Middle Park Health/Photo provided
People choose to live and visit Grand County for its beauty, quality of life, and access to outdoor activities and recreation. One of the things that makes our region so attractive is our local hospitals, which provide high-quality emergency services, specialty care, mental health care, and general care to residents and visitors alike. It’s a system. Unfortunately, this integrated health care system is in jeopardy due to a series of ballot measures that have the potential to erode medical practice in Colorado, increase health care costs, and expand health care deserts, especially in rural areas like Grand County. In danger.
If these voting measures If it goes to voters this fall, it would remove reasonable limits on the amount of money people can collect when suing health care providers. Patients absolutely deserve fair compensation for their negligence, with no cap on economic damages such as lost wages or long-term health problems. However, in order to maintain a balanced health care environment in the state and stabilize costs for everyone else, reasonable limits should be placed on non-economic damages for pain and suffering. .
COPIC, a Colorado-based medical liability insurance company, estimates that if these measures succeed in eliminating caps on non-economic damages, health care costs across the state would soar by billions of dollars annually. I will do it. It can increase overhead and significantly increase the administrative burden on healthcare providers. In states where non-economic damages caps are too high or non-existent, astronomical verdicts have led clinics and hospitals to file for bankruptcy, consider closing, or shut down altogether. Ultimately, this can limit patient access to care and impact economic development in rural areas.
Rural hospitals across Colorado, including Middle Park Health, operate on small, if any, profits. According to the Colorado Hospital Association, more than 70% of Colorado’s hospitals fail to generate long-term sustainable profits. This rate is higher in rural hospitals. If costs rise and a hospital’s revenue cannot cover them, the result can be staff job losses, longer wait times, and service cuts.
Patients in small communities like Grand County cannot afford to lose access to critical emergency and mental health services. We know from decades of data that access to emergency care within an hour significantly improves prognosis. Imagine if you or a loved one suffered a heart attack, was in a serious skiing accident, or is battling cancer. Having quick access to a nearby hospital is not a luxury. It is an important thread between survival and tragedy.
We know that the state Legislature is working to reduce health care costs and improve access, especially in Colorado’s rural areas. These proposed ballot initiatives, supported by trial lawyers, are the antithesis of these goals.
That’s why we support Senate Bill 130., which could prevent the proposal from reaching voters this fall. This measure could protect patients from the ripple effects of rising medical malpractice insurance premiums and ensure continued access to high-quality care without creating medical deserts. Senate Bill 130 proposes a balanced approach, increasing the cap on non-economic damages over a five-year period to provide fair compensation to patients for negligence while ensuring an equitable and sustainable health care system. Responsibly increase from $300,000 to $500,000.
we urge legislators This will stabilize health care costs and allow rural doctors and hospitals like ours to continue providing essential services to our residents and visitors.
Jason Kreckler is CEO of Middle Park Health in Grand County. Rich Cimino is the District 1 County Commissioner representing Grand County.and the new executive director of Peak Health Alliance.
