multi-state compact

The latest buzzword among those determined to undermine federal involvement in everything from health care to environmental regulation is "compact." Take, for example, House Bill 1273 (the so-called "HOPE Act"), which recently passed the Colorado House and will be heard in the Senate early next week. It is supposed to be about allowing Colorado to "design the health care regulatory regime that best meets the needs of its citizens."(1) In reality, it's about opting out of the national health care reform law with nothing to replace it.

Three bills we think are important for Colorado's future went the wrong way in the legislature this week, one because it failed and two others because they passed.

Senate Bill 126 would have offered college tuition at an unsubsidized, in-state rate to qualifying Colorado high school graduates who are not documented citizens. We believe in education for all Coloradans, and we believe the bill was good education policy, good workforce development policy and good economic development policy.

House Bill 11-1273

Testimony to the House Health and Environment Committee
Robert Semro, policy analyst, the Bell Policy Center
April 26, 2011

My name is Robert Semro, and I am a policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of Colorado.

This bill represents a significant opportunity loss for Colorado. Should legislation for an interstate compact pass in the Colorado General Assembly, and then be approved by both houses of Congress, the state would no longer receive the benefits resulting from the national health care reform law. The passage of House Bill 1273 would do nothing tangible to reduce the number of uninsured or underinsured in Colorado, improve health care outcomes, better manage premium or health care costs, implement insurance market reforms or provide other potential benefits of the national law.