CEO Chat

Reforming Colorado’s Healthcare: The Future Is Now

February 2008

Jim Shmerling, DHA, FACHE, President and CEO of The Children's Hospital

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted members of the 208 Blue Ribbon Commission. You may recall this group of 27 governor-appointed commissioners were assigned the task of developing a comprehensive proposal to provide substantive and sustainable healthcare reform for all Coloradans. The commissioners represented a variety of constituencies from across the state and, thanks to their many hours of arduous deliberation, were able to reach a consensus recommendation to send to our legislature and the governor.

As I write this message, the prospect of turning the Commission’s exhaustively researched recommendations into reality for Colorado’s 800,000 uninsured citizens, of which 175,000 are uninsured children, is now in the hands of those elected leaders who must balance this pressing healthcare need of critical importance against the state’s fiscal realities. As Commission representatives told a standing-room-only crowd at The Children’s Hospital on Jan. 30, and reiterated to the governor and state legislators the next day, those fiscal constraints have already dictated that the state’s approach to healthcare reform will need to be incremental and must include provisions to lower cost.

“Healthcare reform in Colorado will be a building block process,” said Commission Chairman Bill Lindsay.

Healthcare Reform Forum a Success

More than 200 participants attended this panel discussion on Jan. 30 about the work of the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Healthcare Reform.

View a video of the forum

I applaud the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission. These outstanding professionals have given many months of their time exploring numerous and sometimes controversial options. We are proud that the Commission chose The Children’s Hospital as the location to preview their recommendations. Their work reflects a reasoned, measured approach to an issue of enormous complexity. Most importantly, from my perspective, the Commission’s focus on children’s health, both in terms of improving access and providing adequate reimbursement to pediatric providers, is a most promising beginning.

Now that the Commission’s work has concluded, it is up to us to pick up where they left off to ensure our healthcare system is reformed. I urge the governor and legislators to support the Commission’s recommendations, which include ensuring all children have a medical home. Innumerable studies have documented that the dollars we spend today to keep our children healthy and to apply evidence-based treatments when they are sick or injured, pays dividends down the road in terms of enhanced quality of life and decreased healthcare costs.

Beyond the cost savings, however, putting our children’s health and wellbeing first is nothing less than a moral imperative if we are serious about our commitment to Colorado’s future. It has been said, “How a society cares for its children shows forth the moral and the spiritual standards it embraces and with which it endows its progeny.” I am convinced that Coloradans epitomize the love of children and the collective desire to nurture them and their families.

In the months and years ahead, the good work of the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Healthcare Reform and how our elected leaders act on that work will tell us much about Colorado’s commitment to the true health and wellbeing of our children.

All of us can participate in this process by first becoming informed about the specific recommendations made by the Commission and then engage in the discussion by joining the hospital’s Grassroots Advocacy Network or by simply calling our respective legislators and encouraging them to get on board. In the meantime, The Children’s Hospital will do whatever it can to support our elected officials in their deliberations as we keep foremost in mind that the ultimate beneficiaries of their decisions will be our children and Colorado’s future.

With warm regards,