DENVER — Two of the three major opponents to the proposed public option have shifted their stance, paving the way to possible agreement on a bill that has undergone hundreds of hours of negotiation and at least three rewrites.
On Tuesday, the House Health & Insurance Committee will take another look at House Bill 1232, but it will be dramatically different from the version they reviewed in an April 9 committee hearing.
For one thing, the public option no longer exists.
On Monday, sponsors of the bill were joined by House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, to talk about the latest version, rewritten in the hopes of moving the opponents of the bill to a neutral position.
House Bill 1232 gives the healthcare industry — doctors, hospitals and health insurers — two years to reduce health insurance premiums by 20% (10% per year) in the individual and small group market. The individual market is about 8% of insured Coloradans; the small group market, which is small businesses with 1 to 100 employees, is about 15% of insured Coloradans.
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