The Honorable Attorney General John Suthers:

We are writing today in response to your decision to add your name-and the state of Colorado-to the Florida lawsuit to “protect the individual freedom, public health and welfare” of Coloradans. We could not disagree more with your decision. Democrats in Congress and President Obama demonstrated courageous leadership by passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We stand united in support ofthis long overdue policy change.

While we respect your autonomy to file a lawsuit independent of the legislature, we believe this particular action is misguided and is politically motivated.

Colorado is better positioned than most states to make the most ofnational reforms because of initiatives already implemented by Governor Ritter and the legislature. The groundwork for our state-based reforms began with the bi-partisan Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform in 2007, which studied how to increase coverage and reduce cost. Senate Bill 208 was supported by 16 Republican legislators, including then-Representative Josh Penry, a co-sponsor.

After 15 months ofthoughtful deliberation, including 25 public meetings, this bi-partisan panel concluded in their Executive Summary: “We must look for ways to stabilize rising costs. For example, if we extend health coverage to more people, we can minimize the cost shift from uncompensated care that represents a ‘hidden tax’ and contributes to escalating health insurance premiums. Ifwe bring more healthy people into the insurance pool, we can lower the risk and thereby stabilize costs for everyone.” The lawsuit takes issue with the constitutionality of the requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance, and is in direct opposition with one ofthe main recommendations ofthe commission and one ofthe central tenets of the federal legislation.

You state that the “mandate is an unprecedented expansion ofthe power of the federal government that could undermine the rights ofthe states and their citizens for generations to come.” Dozens of constitutional lawyers disagree.

Many would argue that Congress has the power to legislate a coverage requirement because the Federal Government has a significant role in regulating health insurance. Many constitutional scholars agree that Congress does have this power under the Commerce Clause.

Melissa Hart, an associate professor at the University of Colorado and director ofthe Byron White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law said, “I think it’s a very radical interpretation of the 10th Amendment. 1think it will fail and 1think it’s very political.”

The editorial boards of The Denver Post and the Grand Junction Sentinel also agree the lawsuit is without merit. Even the Colorado Springs Gazette says your motivations are “absolutely” politically motivated.

It is ironic that you, a Republican, now oppose the individual mandate given this provision was originally a Republican idea. Republicans introduced the individual mandate in President George H.W. Bush’s Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act of 1993. The leading GOP alternative plan during President Clinton’s health reform effort, the 1994 Consumer Choice Health Security Act, also included an individual mandate.

As the Attorney General for the State of Colorado, you are tasked with representing the best interest of Colorado, not special interests that are trying to undermine much needed health care reform. On behalf of constituents across Colorado, we disapprove of the use of any taxpayer money to make this political statement. Particularly during these times of budget cuts, your limited budget should be focused on carrying out the mission of your agency, not making political statements. Any taxpayer money or stafftime dedicated to this lawsuit, even $5,000 as you proclaim, is taxpayer money; hardearned taxpayer money that won’t be spent protecting consumers, one ofthe missions ofyour office.

We support the President and Congress, and believe that protecting Coloradans’ “freedom, public health and welfare” is best done by upholding this legislation. It is for these reasons we ask for you to remove Colorado as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Speaker of the House Terrance D. Carroll
Majority Leader Paul Weissmann
State Representative Dennis Apuan
State Representative Debbie Benefield
State Representative Edward Casso
State Representative Lois Court
State Representative Mark Ferrandino
State Representative Randy Fischer
State Representative Jerry Frangas
State Representative Sara Gagliardi
State Representative Dicky Lee Hullinghorst
State Representative Joel Judd
State Representative Daniel Kagan
State Representative John Kefalas
State Representative Andy Kerr
State Representative Jeanne Labuda
State Representative Claire Levy
State Representative Michael Merrifield
State Representative Karen Middleton
State Representative Joe Miklosi
State Representative Sal Pace
State Representative Cherylin Peniston
State Representative Jack Pommer
State Representative Dianne Primavera
State Representative Jim Riesberg
State Representative Su Ryden
State Representative Christine Scanlan
State Representative Sue Schafer
State Representative Judy Solano
State Representative John Soper
State Representative Nancy Todd
State Representative Max Tyler
State Representative Edward Vigil

Small Business Tax Credits

* Offers tax credits to small businesses beginning in 2010 to make employee coverage more affordable. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums will be immediately available to firms that choose to offer coverage. The full credit will be available to firms with 10 or fewer employees with average annual wages of $25,000, while firms with up to 25 or fewer employees and average annual wages of up to $50,000 will also be eligible for the credit. Effective calendar year 2010. Later, when Exchanges are operational, tax credits will be up to 50 percent of premiums

No Pre-existing Coverage Exclusions for Children

* Prohibits health insurers from excluding coverage of pre-existing conditions for children. Effective six months after enactment, applies to all employer plans and new plans in the individual market. (This provision will apply to all people in 2014).

Access to Affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions

* Provides $5 billion in immediate federal support for a new program to provide affordable coverage to uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions until new Exchanges are operational in 2014. Effective 90 days after enactment.

Closing the Coverage Gap in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit

* Provides a $250 rebate check for Medicare beneficiaries who hit the ¡¥donut hole¡¦ in 2010. Effective calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2011, institutes a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole; also fills the donut hole by 2020.)

Patient Protections

* Protects patients’ choice of doctors by allowing plan members to pick any participating primary care provider, prohibiting insurers from requiring prior authorization before a woman sees an ob-gyn, and ensuring access to emergency care. This provision applies to all new plans. Effective six months after enactment.

Re-insurance for Retiree Health Benefit Plans

* Creates immediate access to re-insurance for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees, helping to protect coverage while reducing premiums for employers and retirees. Effective 90 days after enactment.

Extension of Coverage for Young Adults

* Requires insurers to permit children to stay on family policies until age 26. Effective six months after enactment, applies to all plans in the individual market, new employer plans, and existing employer plans if a young adult is not eligible for employer coverage.

Free Prevention Benefits

* Requires coverage of prevention and wellness benefits in all new plans and exempts these benefits from deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements in public and private insurance coverage. Effective six months after enactment.

Free Prevention and Wellness Visits in Medicare

* Medicare beneficiaries will receive a free, annual wellness visit and will have all cost-sharing waived for preventive services. Effective January 1, 2011.

Access to Quality Care for Vulnerable Populations

* Makes $11 billion investment over five years in Community Health Centers to provide the funding needed to expand access to health care in communities where it is needed most. Effective Fiscal Year 2010.

Ensuring Value for Premium Payments

* Establishes standards for insurance overhead and requires public disclosure to ensure that enrollees get value for their premium dollars, requiring plans in the individual and small group market to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on clinical services and quality activities, and 85 percent for plans in the large group market. Health insurance plans that do not meet these thresholds will provide rebates to their policyholders. Effective January 1, 2011. This provision applies to all plans, including grandfathered plans, with the exception of self-insured plans.

No Lifetime Limits on Coverage

* Prohibits insurers from imposing lifetime limits on benefits. Effective six months after enactment, applies to all plans.

Regulated Annual Limits on Coverage

* Tightly regulates plans¡¦ use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care in all group plans and all new individual plans. These tight restrictions will be defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Effective six month after enactment, applies to new plans in the individual market and all employer plans. (When the Exchanges are operational in 2014, the use of annual limits will be banned for new plans in the individual market and all employer plans.)

Protection from Rescissions of Existing Coverage

* Stops insurers from rescinding insurance when claims are filed, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact. Effective six months after enactment, applies to all new and existing plans.

Prohibits Discrimination Based on Salary

* Prohibits new group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees. Effective six months after enactment.

Public Access to Comparable Information on Insurance Options

* Enables creation of a new website to provide information on and facilitate informed consumer choice of insurance options. Effective not later than July 1, 2010.

Health Insurance Consumer Information

* Provides assistance to States in establishing offices of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman programs to assist individuals with the filing of complaints and appeals, enrollment in a health plan, and, eventually, to assist consumers with resolving problems with tax credit eligibility. Effective Fiscal Year 2010.

Appeals Process

* Requires all new health plans to implement an effective process for appeals of coverage determinations and claims. And, states will provide an external appeals process to ensure an independent review. Effective six months after enactment.

Increasing the Number of Primary Care Providers

* Provides new investment in training programs to increase the number of primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals. Effective Fiscal Year 2010.

New, Voluntary, Long-Term Care Insurance Program

* Creates a long-term care insurance program to be financed by voluntary payroll deductions to provide benefits to adults who become disabled. Effective January 1, 2011.

“Today’s legislation eliminates the type of gender discrimination practiced by insurance companies in setting rates for women – rates which can be up to 59 percent higher than rates for men,” Gov. Ritter said. “This bill ensures access to care and coverage for all at an equitable price and eliminates the financial burden that gender rating puts on women.”

HB 1008 passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Ritter during the fourth annual Health Care Day of Action at the Capitol.

“Gender should not be considered a preexisting condition,” Sen. Schwartz said. “Ensuring that all Coloradans have equal access to health care is vital to the well-being of our state. Affordable health care for women helps care for Colorado’s children and families.”

“As the country looks to D.C. for federal health care reform, Colorado can now thank the legislature for health care equality,” Sen. Carroll said. “With the signing of this bill into law, legislators are standing up for what is just in health care: women and men stand on level ground in Colorado today.”

“I am very pleased that Colorado has eliminated unfair health insurance premiums on women,” Rep. Schafer said. “Now women and men of the same age will pay the same cost for the same coverage in individual private insurance plans.”

“I am thrilled that we were able to get this bill passed,” Rep. McCann said. “When I first graduated from law school we started the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, and one of the first issues we tackled was gender discrimination in health insurance. It is ironic that many years later, I am still working on this issue. I am honored to be in a position now to co-sponsor a bill that is a great step forward for women in Colorado who are in the individual health care market.”

The new law no longer allows gender rating in Colorado’s individual insurance market. More than 130,000 Colorado women aged 19-64 had individual insurance in 2006-07, and 90 percent of the plans offered in Colorado utilized gender rating in the individual insurance market.

This practice is currently prohibited in the small group market and the new law will bring equity to the individual market. HB 1008 will make health insurance more affordable and accessible for women purchasing insurance in the individual market.

“Over the last year, we have worked hard to fulfill my commitment of making Recovery Act spending in Colorado as transparent, open and accountable as possible to the people of Colorado,” Gov. Ritter said. “Through public outreach, aggressive oversight and extensive reports on www.colorado.gov/recovery, we are ensuring that Colorado taxpayers know how their funds are being spent. I am proud that our efforts are being recognized nationally.”

The report scored state Recovery Act websites according to their ability to show various types of spending information, including contracts awarded, distribution of spending by county or town, and details of specific projects. On a scale of 0 to 100, Colorado scored 72. The average score was 44. Maryland topped the list. The report authors are part of a national coalition called States for a Transparent and Accountable Recovery (STAR coalition).

This report updates a similar study released in July 2009 that also ranked Colorado near the top of states.

“Colorado’s Recovery Act website is sophisticated, comprehensive, and easily navigable,” the report said. “The state uses mapping and narrative information effectively to disclose information about spending, project progress, and job creation and retention. Data can be retrieved by drilling down through maps or by accessing provided reports. Information appears to be timely and frequently updated.”

The website is maintained by the Governor’s Economic Recovery Team and includes a map that shows Recovery Act projects and lists of contractors and reports. The website is updated daily and the staff is working on adding new features in coming months.

To view the study, go to http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/ARRAwebreportjan2010.pdf

At least $6.7 billion in Recovery Act funding is expected to come to Colorado through more than 100 different programs, including tax cuts for 1.8 million families, increased safety net benefits and infrastructure projects that are creating or saving thousands of jobs.

For more information about the Recovery Act in Colorado, visit www.colorado.gov/recovery.

“We’re excited to see champions for the New Energy Economy on the ground in these local communities, working closely with citizens, businesses and governments to help them save money, create jobs and increase our energy security,” Gov. Ritter said. “These grants will give regions across the state opportunities to focus on how they can benefit from energy efficiency and conservation.”

The grants, awarded by the Governor’s Energy Office, are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will fund local community energy coordinators (CECs) to drive efforts helping towns, counties, residents and businesses become more energy efficient. The CEC positions will be administered by local organizations, including non-profits, utilities, councils of governments, counties and higher education institutions.

The CECs will work across government boundaries, helping obtain energy-related grants, developing local strategies and identifying the best energy efficiency opportunities for specific jurisdictions. Most will be responsible for work in multiple cities and counties. A coordinator will work in both Grand and Jackson counties, for example. Another will build efforts across Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties. The grants range from $50,000 to $265,000 depending on the size of the population served. They are intended to pay staffing costs for 24 to 30 months.

“Grand County Business Economic Development Association (BEDA) looks forward to working with the Governor’s Energy Office to implement efforts to save energy, reduce energy bills and create jobs,” said Rebecca McBride, director of BEDA. “The organization is excited to work with Grand and Jackson counties to bring the economic benefits of sustainable energy strategies to local businesses and our communities.”

Pueblo County commissioners said in a statement that the grant dollars “will enable Pueblo County to build on our many past sustainability efforts and develop a new comprehensive energy plan for Pueblo County. We anticipate that this project will help us attract new jobs and energy-related industries to our community and southern Colorado.”

The grant dollars come from $9.5 million allocated to the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) under the Recovery Act-funded Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. The GEO will be providing further EECBG dollars for additional community-based energy efficiency efforts in the first half of 2010.

The U.S. Department of Energy has also directly allocated $42.6 million in EECBG funds to Colorado’s 20 largest cities and 10 largest counties. Those communities, including high population centers on the Front Range and Western Slope, received totals ranging from $6 million (Denver) to $172,000 (Parker), based on population formulas. The last of those dollars were provided to Colorado communities in late 2009.

“This is an important advancement in the push for enhanced broadband services and adoption of a technology critical to economic development, heath, education, and civic engagement,” said Gov. Ritter. “Understanding where broadband is deployed today will enable us to make advancements in broadband tomorrow.”

The maps were developed by Connect Colorado, a subsidiary of Connected Nation, who collected the broadband provider data and developed an interactive web service for citizens to check broadband availability, locate providers in their area, and report data inaccuracies.

While the project found the vast majority of Colorado has basic broadband coverage, there are other important factors – such adequate speed and adoption – that contribute to a state’s “broadband fitness.” The project explored these areas, but OIT hopes to round out the work with a $2.1 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that it recently received from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The funding will enable OIT to continue its broadband data collection and mapping efforts and to help identify priority areas for activities to promote the deployment and use of broadband service.

Gov. Bill Ritter yesterday released a new report mapping out how Colorado’s electricity sector can reduce carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent over the next decade by significantly expanding investments in new high-voltage transmission and utility-scale renewable energy, increasing emphasis on energy efficiency and developing a greater role for natural gas.

The Renewable Energy Development Infrastructure (REDI) report concludes that expansion of Colorado’s high-voltage transmission infrastructure will considerably improve the reliability of the state’s electricity delivery system and accommodate greater development of renewable energy from rural Colorado to electric customers across the state.

“Updating and expanding our aging and constrained transmission infrastructure is a critical piece of our New Energy Economy,” Gov. Ritter said. “Investment in transmission means jobs and a major boost to Colorado’s economy, including in rural areas that are home to many of our state’s richest renewable energy resources. Bringing dependable, affordable clean energy  – whether solar, wind or natural gas – from where it’s generated to where it’s needed the most will keep Colorado on the leading edge in a world moving fast toward a new energy future.”

Read more details here.

“This new report offers further proof that the Economic Recovery Act is working. Leading economists have said that the Recovery Act is on track to reach its goal of saving or creating 3.5 million jobs, and now the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirms this with its findings that the recovery funds have already saved or created between 600,000 and 1.6 million jobs.

“While we still have work to do to get our economy back on track, it is clear that the Recovery Act has prevented an economic catastrophe. But this success comes no thanks to Representatives Coffman and Lamborn and the Republican ‘Party Of NO,’ who put politics ahead of common sense and voted against the Recovery Act. Colorado Republicans were unanimous in their opposition to the act, preferring to continue down the path of failed Bush economic policies. Representatives Lamborn and Coffman and their colleagues in Congress have shown time and time again that they are more interested in seeing Democrats fail than in fighting for the best interests of Coloradans.

“Despite unrelenting opposition from the Republican ‘Party of NO,’ President Obama and Congressional Democrats continue to promote policies to create jobs, grow our economy and deliver on the change Americans overwhelming voted for last November. It’s time for Colorado’s Republicans to stop playing politics and to start working with us.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125964003843970851.html

Key Point:

“The Congressional Budget Office late Monday said it estimates that the federal stimulus package sustained between 600,000 and 1.6 million jobs in the third quarter, and raised gross domestic product by 1.2 to 3.2 percentage points higher than it would have been without the program.”

CBO: 600,000 to 1.6 Million Employed by Stimulus

Wall Street Journal
NOVEMBER 30, 2009, 11:08 P.M. ET
By JOSEPH B. WHITE

The Congressional Budget Office late Monday said it estimates that the federal stimulus package sustained between 600,000 and 1.6 million jobs in the third quarter, and raised gross domestic product by 1.2 to 3.2 percentage points higher than it would have been without the program.

The CBO said the figures were estimates made “using evidence about how previous similar policies have affected the economy and various mathematical models that represent the workings of the economy.”

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, in a blog post, said stimulus recipients have reported that about 640,000 jobs “were created or retained” with stimulus funding through Sept. 30. “However, such reports do not provide a comprehensive estimate of the law’s impact on employment in the United States. That impact may be higher or lower than the reported number for several reasons (in addition to any issues about the quality of the data in the reports),” Mr. Elmendorf wrote. The CBO is required to comment on the figures released by stimulus recipients.

The White House has recently touted the figure of 640,000 jobs tied to stimulus spending, based on the reports from grant recipients, as evidence that the package is effective. But questions about the accuracy of the reports underpinning that figure have prompted criticism by members of Congress from both parties. Republicans have said the $787 billion package of tax cuts and spending hasn’t stopped unemployment from rising to 10.2%. Some Democrats have expressed frustration with the apparent inaccuracies in the job count.

The CBO in March projected that the stimulus would result in 600,000 to 1.5 million more jobs than would have existed without the spending. In his blog post, Mr. Elmendorf says the CBO’s latest estimates reflect a finding that the impact of the package’s tax cuts have been about $10 billion larger than originally projected, while the impact on federal spending because of the legislation “has turned out to be slightly smaller than CBO initially estimated.”

“Economic output and employment in the spring and summer of 2009 were lower than CBO had projected at the beginning of the year. But in CBO’s judgment, that outcome reflects greater-than-projected weakness in the underlying economy rather than lower-than-expected effects” of the stimulus, according to Mr. Elmendorf’s blog post.