Through its grantmaking, The Trust seeks to partner with nonprofits, government entities, coalitions, commissions and communities to achieve the goal of providing affordable, quality health coverage for all Coloradans. With this in mind, it has supported multi-sector efforts such as the Partnership for a Healthy Colorado and the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform. Both of these initiatives facilitate dialogue, identify common ground, elucidate alternative policy solutions and their respective trade-offs, develop a shared policy agenda and define a path toward implementation. Together with achieving consensus on need and broad strategies for change, the associated financing implications must be addressed. Many coverage expansion efforts, especially at the state level, have failed due to lack of affordability or financing (or both). Indeed, affordability of coverage for families and financing requirements are opposite sides of the same cost "coin." Surveys of the uninsured indicate that escalating costs are a major barrier to coverage and that low- and middle-income families are more likely to enroll if insurance is subsidized by an employer or a government agency. However, more generous government subsidies lead to greater public price tags. According to U.S. Census figures, three-quarters of the people without health insurance live in low or middle-income families. Many of these families cannot afford the rising cost of health insurance if they do not have an employer or a public program to help with health insurance premiums. As the graph below shows, health insurance premiums have increased at a rate far exceeding wage growth in recent years. To inform decisionmaking around these trade-offs, The Trust has invested in studies on affordability of health care and health insurance, and federal financing options. This type of research is important in order to continue to make strides toward expanding health coverage, particularly for Colorado's most vulnerable populations. A critical component of achieving access to health, coverage must be considered in the broader health system context.
See full listing of grantees receiving support from The Colorado Trust to Expand Health Coverage. |
