January 17, 2008 2:16 PM

Going Postal for Universal Health Care

By Chris Barge

Gov. Bill Ritter's "Let's Take Our Time" approach to providing Coloradans universal health care isn't fast enough for two activists.

Chuck Bader of Colorado Springs and Christina Gonnella of Denver are trying to place a citizen initiative on the November ballot that would require every business in the state with at least 20 employees to provide major medical health care coverage for its employees and their dependents.

Bader, a Colorado Springs postal clerk, said he has high regard for the efforts by Ritter and a blue ribbon commission to tackle the difficult, billion-dollar challenge of expanding health care coverage to nearly 800,000 uninsured Coloradans.

He just wants to make sure that -- come November -- there’s a solution.

Bader doesn't see why he got great health care while in the Marines and the U.S. Postal Service, but got bupkis for coverage as a private sector employee.

He blames mega-rich corporations.

"We’re making their profits for them," he said. "If they hire employees and they don’t offer them health care, we as taxpayers pick up the bill."

"That’s one of my motivations for doing this,� he added.

"If you come to Colorado at least pay the expenses like you would for gas and utilities. Health care should be part of it."

The measure would require the state to establish an insurance authority that the employers who don’t ensure their employees would have to pay premiums to. The authority, in turn, would provide major medical health care coverage to those companies’ employees.

Bader and Gonnella submitted their “Fair Share Health Care� ballot proposal on Wednesday. They are scheduled to answer questions about it from the state’s Legislative Council staff on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in room 109 of the state Capitol.

Posted by Alan Gathright at 2:16 PM | Comments (3)