The Cost of Care: Can Coloradans Afford Health Care? (Executive Summary)

In the health care debate, there are three critical areas that policymakers must consider: adequacy, accessibility and affordability. Conducted by the Colorado Center on Law & Policy and its partners at Colorado Voices for Coverage (and co-funded by The Colorado Trust), this study explored such questions as: What does affordability mean for Colorado families? How should policymakers address affordability? What definition of affordability ensures that all Coloradans have access to health care? The study is based on research resulting from nearly 100 community budget workshops conducted throughout Colorado, where approximately 1,000 families under 500 percent of the Federal Poverty Level were surveyed.