Single-payer health care measure has Democrats battling Democrats

Single-payer health care measure has Democrats battling Democrats 

Single-payer health care measure has Democrats battling Democrats

By Charles Ashby
Saturday, August 20, 2016

The people supporting the fall ballot measure to create a statewide universal health care system are beside themselves.
This past week, that group, ColoradoCare Yes, saw Democrat after Democrat come out against their proposal, known as Amendment 69.
“Everyone says this is an unusual election year, but Colorado politics took a bizarre turn, because a group of people who said they always favored universal health care are coming out against it,” said author and filmmaker T.R. Reid on behalf of the campaign. “These so-called progressives are siding with the Koch brothers and the far right fringe of the Republican Party to oppose the only plan in Colorado that would provide care for everybody.”
That comment came after two main Democratic groups, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado and ProgressNow Colorado, last week spoke out against the amendment, saying there could be “significant” consequences to their support of pro-choice issues when it comes to abortions.
“The truth is, nothing would make progressives in Colorado happier than taking a bold step toward single-payer health care,” said Ian Silverii, executive director of ProgressNow. “But there are real policy problems with Amendment 69 that its supporters did not anticipate. When our trusted partners on the issue of protecting reproductive choice tells us that a measure could create serious roadblocks for women who need abortions, we have to take that seriously.”
The fear is that because of laws barring the use of state and federal money to perform abortions, passage of a state-run health care system could mean an end to funding for Planned Parenthood, which supplies abortion services.
Republicans, meanwhile, were quick to capitalize on the division between the two sides.
“The major takeaway from this announcement is that this socialized medicine scheme must be getting annihilated in progressives’ internal polling,” said Kelly Maher, a GOP operative. “ProgressNow would be on the front lines of the battle if the measure stood any chance of passing, not least because both organizations are funded in significant part by the same donors.”