How will we cover all Coloradans in 2022?

Without health insurance, families are one medical emergency away from financial ruin. Therefore, the security and care that health insurance provides is immeasurable. Unfortunately, many Coloradans still do not have access to these services. This lack of health coverage can lead to detrimental outcomes, especially for people of color and people without certain documentation, who often face greater barriers to access due to systemic exclusion from the health care system. Having health insurance creates a ripple effect within families, allowing all to achieve better health outcomes. For these reasons and so many more, we must work to create holistic, integrated, and equitable policy solutions – because all Coloradans are worthy of care and coverage.  

Welcome to another episode of The West Steps! This week, we expand on a critical conversation we’ve returned to throughout the podcast’s four seasons. We are joined by Erin Miller, Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Shaunti Meyer, midwife and Senior Medical Director at Stride Medical Center; An Nguyen, Chief Dental Officer at Clinica Family Health; and Wendolyne Omaña, co-founder of Construyendo. Our guests highlight the importance of health insurance and preventative care, especially amongst pregnant people. They detail the need to make patients – especially people without documentation- feel safe and worthy of health care services. We also get a first glimpse at Cover all Coloradans, a bill being introduced this session which aims to provide health insurance to all undocumented pregnant people and kids under 19. To learn more about how this bill would provide more Coloradans with the physical, emotional, and oral health care they need and deserve, visit coverallcoloradans.org.