New Data: Colorado continues to fall behind in key investment areas

The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute (COFPI) released new data today updating our 2007 report, Aiming for the Middle: Benchmarks for Colorado's Future. The new numbers show that Colorado continues to fall behind other states in key investment areas such as education, health care, higher education, and transportation. Additionally, the new numbers do not yet reflect the impact of the recession, and raise concerns about Colorado's ability to recover with our current fiscal system.

"The most startling thing about this data is that it doesn’t reflect the effect of the recession," said COFPI Senior Fiscal Analyst Carol Hedges. "This data is from when the state’s economy was in good shape, so we know it only goes downhill from there."

"Colorado has a systemic revenue problem, plain and simple," Hedges went on to say. "The state simply doesn’t have the revenue needed to support the public services that Coloradans rely on, knowingly or not, every single day, and that’s a threat to our collective future and to our economy."

CCLP, CCHI Go to Washington

As the health care reform debate intensifies in Washington, congressional staffers looked to Colorado for guidance on key components of reform. Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP) Health Analyst Liz Feder and Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI) Executive Director Dede de Percin met with key congressional staff members last week in Washington, D.C. to discuss the findings of a new report—The Cost of Care: Can Coloradans Afford Health Care—from the CCLP and Colorado Voices for Coverage.

The report, which was released in April, shows that many Colorado families have little or nothing left at the end of each month to pay for health care, and, in many cases, health care costs force families to make financial tradeoffs with other necessary expenses, such as housing, education, child care, or savings.

“This was a great opportunity to convey the challenges Colorado families face to federal policymakers,” said Feder. “One of the key findings is that there is so much variation among what families can afford that no single dollar amount or uniform percentage can adequately account for what’s affordable—meaning we need flexibility when it comes to affordability.”

“All across Colorado, we saw families struggling to pay crushing health care costs, and in many cases, foregoing otherwise vital needs to pay for health care,” said de Percin. “Lawmakers need to know that that many households just don’t have the dollars necessary to pay for insurance.”

CCLP and CCHI were joined by Gordon Duvall from Metro Organizations for People (MOP), as well as advocates from four other states who are also briefing congressional staff members. The briefing was coordinated by Community Catalyst, a national nonprofit organization committed to health care reform, and PICO, a national faith-based organizing initiative.

Californication? Not on our watch.

Colorado Pols has a nice retort to the nonsensical argument that some head-in-the-sand critics keep making about Colorado turning into California. The problem? We already are on the same path as California with our unsustainable and confliction fiscal system.

SB 228, which repealed Arveschoug-Bird, was a long overdue step that will help us avoid California's fate.

The fiscal reform naysayers are unwilling or unable to see the true nature of the fiscal problems in Colorado. The same tired old, failed ideas need not apply to this fiscal crisis. Our fiscal system is broken and it’s a threat to our collective future. Fixing it will require creativity, political will, and the recognition that to move forward Colorado must invest in job-creating areas like education, health care, higher education, transportation, and other key priorities that we all share.

Exempla Update: Arbitrator Vetoes Hospital Sale

Last week, Arbitrator William Meyer ruled that the Community First Foundation (formerly Lutheran Hospital Foundation) could not transfer for money or other consideration its interest in the Exempla Joint Venture. He thus stopped the $311 million sale to the Kansas-based Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, which first had been publicly proposed in October 2007. He also ruled that should Sisters of Charity gain control of Lutheran Hospital, state law did not preclude it from instituting restrictions on the services to be provided as many Catholic hospitals do.

It is unclear what the next steps, if any, will be. There is a citizens suit pending in Boulder against the transaction, which has been stayed pending the outcome of the arbitration. Since the plaintiffs in that case were not parties to the arbitration, the plaintiffs in the Boulder case are not legally bound by the outcome of the arbitration. Lawyers for all parties in the arbitration and suit are evaluating the arbitrator's decision.

The Denver Post reported on the arbitration ruling here.

Aurora Sentinel to State: Fix CBMS, Seriously

The Aurora Sentinel penned a strong editorial this week imploring the state to fix the Colorado Benefits Management System once and for all:

It’s inexcusable, and it has got to stop. There are 51 other states and territories that have similar computer systems and successfully distribute benefits to needy families. Colorado is not among them. It’s beyond wrong that the state’s most vulnerable and needy residents be punished for their misfortune by Colorado’s ineptitude.

We could not agree more.

Governor Signs SB 228, Repealing Arveschoug-Bird

Governor Bill Ritter signed SB 228 this morning, repealing an outdated budget formula that restricted Colorado’s ability to withstand and recover from recessions. The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute (COFPI) issued the following statement from Senior Fiscal Analyst Carol Hedges:

“We want to congratulate Governor Ritter for taking this tremendous step toward modernizing and strengthening Colorado’s budget system. The Governor, as well as bill sponsors Sen. John Morse, Rep. Don Marostica, and Rep. Lois Court, showed the necessary leadership and will to change our state’s course for the better.

For years, Colorado has fallen prey to outdated fiscal policy that imperiled our ability to withstand and recover from economic downturns. This law is an important step that will help us make quick, strong recoveries and move us closer to having all of the state’s priorities on a level playing field.

Instead of relying on the failed fiscal policies of the past, the Legislature’s support for SB 228 shows that a broad coalition of different stakeholders can work together to fix what is broken.

Unfortunately, critics of SB 228 have repeatedly made misleading and outright false attacks about this legislation. They’ve said it will increase spending, which it does not. That it will raise your taxes, which it will not. And that it will increase the size of government, which it can’t.

Perhaps even more importantly, SB 228 will stop Colorado from falling into the same dire situation that we’ve seen in California, where mandated spending formulas have crippled their state’s ability to invest in priorities and brought about massive budget shortfalls.

SB 228 sets us on a different, better course—toward stronger fiscal footing, more flexibility to withstand and recover from changing economic conditions, more stable funding for transportation and infrastructure, substantial state reserves for the future, and a more level playing field for job-creating areas like education and health care that reflects Colorado’s priorities.”

Yesterday, the Governor also signed two other bills that CCLP and COFPI were actively involved in passing: SB 247 which expands unemployment insurance for struggling workers and draws down about $200 million in federal stimulus money, and HB 1276 which strengthens foreclosure assistance for Colorado families trying to stay in their homes.