 
Dear friends of The Colorado Trust,
The widely felt impact of the national economic crisis underscores the tremendous need for a more effective way to provide health coverage and care.
Families USA recently reported that family health insurance premiums rose nearly five times faster than wages for Colorado workers from 2000 to 2007. Annual job-based health insurance premiums, including worker and employer shares, jumped nearly 75% to $12,000 during that eight-year period, while the median income of workers statewide grew just 16% to over $30,000. These challenges are compounded by increasing layoffs and turmoil in the housing market which further strain family budgets.
At such a time, we believe it is critical to stay the course. Our state will only weather tough financial times like these successfully when we have a healthy, educated population that contributes to our economic stability. That’s why we are committed to finding solutions that address both the financial and human aspects of an effective health care system.
Over the past year, The Trust engaged in an intensive planning process, identifying opportunities to continue our mission of advancing the health and well-being of the people of Colorado while purposefully and proactively focusing our efforts on a single vision – achieving access to health for all Coloradans by 2018. On September 10, many community partners and friends joined us as we announced this new grantmaking focus. Within this work we are dedicated first and foremost to supporting efforts to help gain access to health for people who are the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, including children and low-income families. From there, our work is focused on ensuring every person in Colorado receives affordable, timely and quality care without exception for race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographic location.
I invite you to help achieve access to health for all Coloradans, as this singular vision will only be achieved by the actions of many. We greatly look forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
Irene M. Ibarra
President and CEO
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