Local businesses share many of the concerns about health care as their statewide peers, surveys conducted Tuesday at a Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce event show.

Nearly 30 members of the local business community told representatives from the Business Health Forum, a nonprofit organization, they would like to see the Legislature mandate that all Coloradans secure some basic form of health insurance.

Those business leaders also agreed — by a nearly two-to-one margin — that policymakers should avoid mandating that businesses provide health care coverage for their employees.

The quality of available health care shouldn’t depend on the type of job a person has, said Steve Hurd, executive director of the Marillac Clinic.

Amy Fletcher, associate director of the Business Health Forum, said even though the health care issues confronting Mesa County are similar to Colorado’s rural areas, the polls showed area businesses to be in agreement with their peers on the Front Range.

“In terms of mandates … I’d say (the concerns) are very similar,” Fletcher said.

The participants’ responses also tracked closely what a blue ribbon health care panel recommended earlier this year to the state Legislature.

The Senate Bill 208 Commission, started under former Gov. Bill Owens to confront the issue of nearly 800,000 Coloradans not having health insurance, encouraged policymakers earlier this year to institute a mandate that all Coloradans obtain some basic level of health insurance.

The Business Health Forum’s Grand Junction event came as part of a series of forums the organization is holding across Colorado.

Fletcher said the forums and polls are aimed at getting more businesses involved and interested in health care before federal and state lawmakers start doing the heavy lifting on health care reform.

“We want to make sure the business community is a part of the health care discussion as policy reform moves forward,” she said.
By MIKE SACCONE
The Daily Sentine

http://www.gjsentinel.com