Mission:
Access to health care should not be
based on income. The U.S. system has become primarily motivated by profit which has led to high costs,
limited access, more chronic disease and a health care system which feeds
on sickness. We must shift to a system designed to prevent disease rather than
treat its symptoms, and a system which provides health care to all.
Short
Term
1.
Access to health care for all people including prenatal care, starting
with a single payer health care insurance system similar to Canada's.
2. Colorado should reinstate the 20% Medicaid co-payment
for Medicare patients so that elderly and disabled people can afford
health care.
3. Health care should place a greater emphasis
on preventive care, for example, more emphasis on prenatal care
and proper nutrition and exercise.
4. A coherent plan to deal with AIDS that depoliticizes
the disease and lets treatment, prevention and research be determined
by the reality of the disease.
5. Although recognizing that abortion may represent
a moral dilemma for many people, we support reproductive choice
and the improvement of education and alternatives so that abortion
will be needed less often.
6. We support family medical leave.
7. All people should have the option to specify
wishes for their death through living wills and the right to die.
8. We support "right to know" laws which
provide employees all information about hazardous materials that
they may be working with.
9. We support "whistle blower" protection
for employees who expose health hazards in the workplace. They should
be protected from punishment with back pay, damages and possible
reinstatement.
10. Education on food issues should be based on
health needs, not the political and economic power of the food industry.
11. All Colorado counties should establish a health
care program for indigents.
12. Denver General Hospital should receive payments
based on costs incurred from any Colorado county which sends their
indigent patients for treatment to DGH, with the state paying for
out-of-state patients.
13. The Colorado Department of Health (CDH) should
provide easy access to all public health-related statistical information,
while respecting patient confidentiality.
14. The CDH should compile and analyze health statistical
data on disease incidence rates of Colorado communities and release
the results to the public immediately.
15. The Colorado legislature should authorize and
adequately fund a state birth defects registry and adequately fund
the existing tumor registry.
16. Improve the quality of our food supply by reducing
and eventually eliminating the use of hormones, antibiotics and
toxic additives. Encourage the use of organic agricultural methods.
Medium
Term
1.
Health insurance should permit all people to choose the health care
system they want.
2. Substance abuse and addiction should be treated
as a medical problem, not as a criminal issue.
3. Health care should de-emphasize the use of strong
drugs and high tech methods.
4. We support a new and expanded midwife certification
program.
5. If a national universal single payer Canadian-style
health care system is not quickly implemented, Colorado should try
to establish a state universal health care system like those in
the Canadian provinces.
Long
Term
1.
The dominance of the "big players", such as the AMA and
the pharmaceutical companies should be broken so that people have
more choice and control of their health care decisions.
2. Mental health care should move away from large-scale
institutionalization.
3. Health should be viewed as a right, not solely
as a profit-making enterprise.
4. Create a health care system where health care
providers are rewarded for maintaining health rather than simply
treating disease and injuries.
