September 8th, Mitzi Moran & T.R. "Tom" Reid, Colorado Healthcare Cost Analysis Task Force

Is There a Health Care System That Meets the Needs of all Coloradans?

Please join us Wednesday, September 8th at 11:30 am MDT for a presentation and discussion with Colorado’s legislatively appointed Health Care Cost Analysis Task Force Chair, Mitzi Moran, CEO of Sunrise Community Health and Task Force member, T.R. “Tom” Reid, author and reporter.

In 2019, the Colorado Legislature created a Task Force whose mission was to find the most efficient way to provide insurance for everyone in Colorado. This Task Force hired expert consultants, held public meetings, and conducted a statewide survey to find out what Coloradans wanted from their health care.

After two years of work, the Task Force will deliver the final report to the Colorado General Assembly on September 1, 2021. Following that, we are privileged to hear from Mitzi Moran, Chair of the Task Force and T.R. “Tom” Reid, Task Force member on Sept. 8th.

The Task Force’s nonpartisan, experienced, unbiased analyst’s report provides that not only can Colorado effectively provide health coverage to every Coloradan (including undocumented immigrants), improving the health of our residents, but it can also be accomplished by spending less than we spend today, with 350,000 people currently uninsured in Colorado.

Health Systems Analyzed:

Current Colorado health care financing system in which residents receive health care coverage from private insurers and public programs or are uninsured
A multi-payer universal health care system in which all residents of Colorado are covered under a plan with a mandated set of benefits that is publicly and privately funded and also paid for by employer and employee contributions
A publicly financed and privately delivered universal health care system that directly compensates providers

Takeaways:

The analysis is unique in that the scope of what we may be able to weigh is within the analysis. For example, what are the collateral costs to society of high health care costs?
The intent is to provide facts to determine the most cost-effective method of financing health care that ensures all Coloradans have access to adequate and affordable health care.
The results of the analysis will show that:
a. Colorado can provide health coverage to every Coloradan, including undocumented immigrants, and the 350,000 Coloradans currently without health insurance.
b. Colorado can afford to insure all Coloradans, and can do it for less money than we are currently spending.
c. By providing all Coloradans with health insurance, it will improve the overall health of Colorado residents.

About Our Presenters

Mitzi Moran, President/CEO of Sunrise Community Health

Born in Colorado, Mitzi was raised as the 4th generation on the family farm in Yuma, CO. She attended the University of Northern Colorado, graduating with a Spanish degree and a TESL minor. She is a graduate of the Sustainable Transformation Program, University of Northern Colorado, Monfort Institute, the Johnson & Johnson UCLA Health Care Executive Program, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at University of California, and the Regional Institute of Health and Environmental Leadership, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University of Denver.

While attending UNC and after, Mitzi worked for 14 years at North Colorado Medical Center in information technology, outreach services development, interpretation, quality and patient advocacy, and project management. Those experiences served her well when she became the clinic manager at Sunrise Community Health in 1998, she still loves the multiple hats one wears when working in a nonprofit organization. After serving as the director of operations, Mitzi became Sunrise’s chief executive officer in 2006. Under Mitzi’s leadership, Sunrise has more than tripled in size and today is a recognized state and national leader in HIT adoption, integrated health care services, safety net collaborations, and professional health education.

Proud to be on the Sunrise team serving over 41,000 people in need in northern Colorado, Mitzi volunteers on several state and local boards. Under Mitzi’s leadership, Sunrise has more than tripled in size and today is a recognized state and national leader in HIT adoption, integrated health care services, safety net collaborations, and professional health education. Serving over 41,000 people in need in northern Colorado, Sunrise is leading the way in compassionate, affordable, quality health care for all.

TR “Tom” Reid, Author and Reporter

T.R. Reid has become one of the nation’s best-known reporters through his books and articles, his documentary films, his reporting for the Washington Post, and his light-hearted commentaries on NPR’s Morning Edition.

He majored in Classics at Princeton University and subsequently worked as a Naval officer during the Vietnam War, a lawyer, a teacher, and assorted other jobs. At The Washington Post, he covered Congress and four presidential campaigns. He served as the paper’s bureau chief in Tokyo and London. Reid has reported from 4 dozen countries on five continents.

In addition, T.R. has written ten books in English and three in Japanese, and translated one book from Japanese to English. His 2009 book “The Healing of America” became a national best-seller. PBS Frontline made two documentaries, “Sick Around the World” and “India–A Second Opinion” following Reid as he did the reporting for that book. He wrote a chapter of the recent Japanese best-seller Nippon no Mirai ni tsuite.

T.R.’s newest book: A Fine Mess — A Global Quest for a Fairer, Simpler, and More Efficient Tax Code has recently been published in paperback. It suggests what the U.S. should and should not do as Congress embarks on a major effort at reforming our federal tax system. It includes an analysis of the 2017 tax “reform” bill, which gave the largest benefits to corporations and upper-bracket taxpayers — and made tax returns even more complicated.

He has made documentary films for National Geographic Television, PBS, and the A&E Network. His latest PBS film was “U.S. Health Care: The Good News,” which is being broadcast by PBS affiliates around the country.

T.R. Reid is Chair of the Board of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a $70 million operation that serves tens of thousands of Coloradans who are down on their luck. He has served as Kai-cho, or President, of the Japan-America Society of Colorado. He is Chairman of the Colorado Foundation for Universal Health Care, the statewide citizens’ campaign working for universal health care coverage. He has served on the boards of Princeton University and several other community and national organizations.