2016 Colorado Amendment 69

2016 Colorado Amendment 69

November 8, 2016
Creation of ColoradoCare System
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 568,683 21.23% No 2,109,868 78.77% Total votes 2,678,551 100.00%
County results No   >90%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

2016 Colorado Amendment 69 was an initiated constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 8, 2016, ballot. The measure aimed to create universal healthcare for state residents by introducing ColoradoCare, which would be paid for through the introduction of a 10% payroll tax.

The amendment was rejected by Colorado voters in a landslide, failing to pass in each of the state's 64 counties.

Background

ColoradoCare would have been primarily funded through the introduction of a 10% payroll tax, with two-thirds paid by employers and one-third paid by employees. Provisions in the Affordable Care Act mean that Colorado also could've received federal funding towards the universal healthcare system. A portion of Social Security and retirement income would be exempt from ColoradoCare taxes — up to $33,000 for an individual and $60,000 for couples. High-income earners would only pay ColoradoCare taxes on income below $350,000.

In 2013, over half of Colorado's population were insured through their employers, while another 12% were covered by Medicaid. The state's uninsured rate was 13%, equal to the national rate. Amendment 69 would not have prevented people from purchasing private health insurance, though the Colorado Health Institute estimated that 83% of Colorado’s population, or around 4.4 million people, would have been eligible for primary health insurance coverage through the system. ColoradoCare would have operated as a cooperative, with members voting for a 21-member board of trustees to oversee operations. Members would have also voted for potential tax increases to increase funding for the program.

Campaign

Opponents, including hospitals and insurers, raised more than $5 million, significantly overshadowing the $900,000 raised by supporters of the amendment. Health insurance provider Anthem (now known as Elevance Health), spent over $1 million opposing Amendment 69.

Support

The campaign in favor of Amendment 69 was primarily led by the organization ColoradoCare YES. State senator Irene Aguilar, who The Guardian called the 'chief architect' of ColoradoCare, claimed that a "disconnect" existed between "the powers that be and the people” in relation to healthcare coverage. Aguilar defended the proposal against economic concerns, calling the funding model a “shifting of funds,” rather than a new tax. Referencing Colorado's 5% income tax used to fund the state government, she claimed that “Coloradans are going to pay $25 billion anyway— it’s just how it’s collected.”

Bernie Sanders was the lone U.S. senator in support of Amendment 69, telling The Colorado Independent that the state "could lead the nation in moving toward a system to ensure better health care for more people at less cost," adding that the United States was "the richest nation on earth" and that "no one should go bankrupt or skip getting the care they need because they cannot afford it."

Boulder-based newspaper The Daily Camera described efforts to understand the effects of Amendment 69 as "a little like looking at the outline of a novel and trying to imagine the finished book." Nonetheless, the paper's editorial board narrowly voted to endorse the measure, urging Colorado residents to cast a protest vote in support of a better healthcare system. In their official endorsement, the board wrote that "we are unwilling to simply say no, knowing this means tacit approval of a status quo we abhor."

Opposition

Amendment 69 received opposition from prominent national and state politicians from both major parties, with the group Coloradans for Coloradans leading the opposition campaign. ColoradoCare YES claimed most of Coloradans for Coloradans' funding came from corporations. Sean Duffy, a spokesperson for Coloradans for Coloradans, told The Guardian that “[w]e have a number of companies from both sides of the aisle, particularly small businesses, who have said that this amendment will hurt their ability to run and grow a business.”

Coloradans for Coloradans hired the Democratic consultant firm Global Strategy Group, who were simultaneously working with Priorities USA Action, a super PAC associated with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Clinton briefly mentioned Amendment 69 at a 2015 campaign rally in Boulder, but didn't explicitly make a case for or against the measure. In October 2016 as part of the Podesta emails, WikiLeaks released email correspondence between Clinton campaign staffers warning against mentioning ColoradoCare in speeches. Campaign manager Robby Mook purportedly wrote that the campaign were "avoiding ... [healthcare coverage] because of the single payer referendum," to which deputy communications director Kristina Schake responded, “[Clinton Colorado campaign manager] Brad [Komar] asked us not to do health care tomorrow in Colorado because of the ballot initiative. Said it won’t be helpful there.”

Abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice, now known as Reproductive Freedom for All, opposed Amendment 69. While the organization reiterated their support for universal healthcare, they argued that a 1984 constitutional ban on the use of public funds for abortions would prohibit ColoradoCare from covering the procedure, limiting access for low-income earners. The Rocky Mountains chapter of Planned Parenthood endorsed against the measure for the same reason. ColoradoCare YES criticized this position, claiming that Amendment 69 would supersede the 1984 ban, which is enshrined in the state's constitution.

Endorsements

Yes

U.S. senators

• Bernie Sanders, Vermont (2007–present) (Independent)

State legislators

• Jeanne Nicholson, former state senator from the 16th district (2011–2015) (Democratic)
• Irene Aguilar, state senator from the 32nd district (2011–2019) (Democratic)

Individuals

• Noam Chomsky, linguist and political activist
• Gloria Steinem, journalist (Democratic)
• T. R. Reid, journalist
• Arn Menconi, environmental activist (Green)
• Paul Noel Fiorino, perennial candidate (Republican)

Organizations

• League of Women Voters of Colorado
• Our Revolution
• Progressive Democrats of America
• American Friends Service Committee
• Healthcare Now
• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
• Public Citizen

Newspapers

• The Aurora Sentinel
• The Daily Camera

No

U.S. senators

• Michael Bennet, Colorado (2009–present) (Democratic)

U.S. representatives

• Ken Buck, CO-04 (2015–2024) (Republican)
• Mike Coffman, CO-06 (2009–2019) (Republican)
• Doug Lamborn, CO-05 (2007–2025) (Republican)
• Scott Tipton, CO-03 (2011–2021) (Republican)

Statewide officials

• John Hickenlooper, governor of Colorado (2011–2019) (Democratic)
• Bill Ritter, former governor of Colorado (2007–2011) (Democratic)
• Bill Owens, former governor of Colorado (1999–2007) (Republican)
• Walker Stapleton, treasurer of Colorado (2011–2019) (Republican)
• Wayne Williams, secretary of state of Colorado (2015–2019) (Republican)
• Cynthia Coffman, attorney general of Colorado (2015–2019) (Republican)

State legislators

• Morgan Carroll, president of the Colorado Senate (2013–2015) from the 29th district (2009–2017) (Democratic)
• Bob Gardner, former state representative from the 20th district (2011–2015) and 21st district (2007–2011) (Republican)
• Crisanta Duran, House Majority Leader (2015–2017) from the 5th district (2011–2019) (Democratic)

Individuals

• John Elway, former NFL quarterback and manager of the Denver Broncos (Republican)

Labor unions

• Colorado Hospital Association
• United Food and Commercial Workers

Organizations

• Americans for Prosperity
• NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
• ProgressNow
• Yampa Valley Medical Center
• Colorado Medical Society
• San Luis Valley Health

Newspapers

• The Denver Post
• Fort Collins Coloradoan
• Longmont Times-Call
• Reporter-Herald
• Greeley Tribune
• Glenwood Springs Post Independent
• Colorado Springs Independent

Declined to endorse

Individuals

• Jill Stein, Green Party nominee for President in 2012 and 2016 (Green)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO Colorado

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Yes	No	Undecided
Franklin & Marshall-Colorado Mesa University	September 14–18, 2016	540 (RV)	± 5.10%	30%	56%	14%
Magellan Strategies	August 29–31, 2016	500 (RV)	± 4.38%	27%	65%	8%
Magellan Strategies	January 27–31, 2016	751 (LV)	± 3.58%	43%	50%	7%

Results

Amendment 69 failed in each of Colorado's 64 counties, including the 22 counties won by Hillary Clinton in the concurrent presidential election. The ballot measure performed best in Boulder County, with a 38.2% 'Yes' vote. Clinton carried the county by 48 points.

Amendment 69

Choice	Votes	%
No	2,109,868	78.77
Yes	568,683	21.23
Total votes	2,678,551	100.00
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

By county

County	For		Against		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%
Adams	32,199	26.67%	136,235	73.33%	185,793
Alamosa	1,304	22.58%	5,489	77.42%	7,090
Arapahoe	59,879	20.51%	232,136	79.49%	292,015
Archuleta	1,154	16.29%	5,928	83.71%	7,082
Baca	160	7.68%	1,922	92.32%	2,082
Bent	249	13.21%	1,636	86.79%	1,885
Boulder	68,312	38.20%	110,509	61.80%	178,821
Broomfield	7,675	21.90%	29,029	79.10%	36,704
Chaffee	2,661	24.02%	8,416	75.98%	11,077
Cheyenne	73	6.70%	1,016	93.30%	1,089
Clear Creek	1,269	12.12%	4,467	77.88%	5,736
Conejos	571	14.60%	3,338	85.40%	3,909
Costilla	467	27.52%	1,230	72.48%	1,697
Crowley	167	11.17%	1,328	88.83%	1,495
Custer	387	12.77%	2,643	87.23%	3,030
Delta	2,528	15.33%	13,962	84.67%	16,490
Denver	102,543	32.95%	208,676	67.05%	311,219
Dolores	170	14.29%	1,020	85.71%	1,190
Douglas	22,815	12.43%	160,782	87.57%	183,597
Eagle	6,045	25.02%	18,116	74.98%	24,162
El Paso	47,591	15.01%	259,320	84.49%	306,911
Elbert	1,303	8.17%	14,461	91.73%	15,764
Fremont	2,987	13.76%	18,724	86.24%	21,711
Garfield	5,721	22.14%	20,123	77.86%	25,845
Gilpin	948	26.86%	2,581	73.14%	3,529
Grand	1,881	22.22%	6,585	77.78%	8,466
Gunnison	2,924	31.92%	6,235	68.08%	9,159
Hinsdale	102	17.35%	486	82.65%	588
Huerfano	750	20.48%	2,913	79.52%	3,663
Jackson	96	11.85%	714	88.15%	810
Jefferson	60,670	18.90%	260,336	81.10%	321,006
Kiowa	54	6.51%	775	93.49%	829
Kit Carson	275	7.64%	3,323	92.36%	3,598
La Plata	7,831	26.18%	21,965	73.72%	29,796
Lake	872	18.16%	2,225	71.84%	3,097
Larimer	43,007	22.90%	144,792	77.10%	187,799
Las Animas	1,174	18.11%	5,307	81.89%	6,481
Lincoln	207	8.66%	2,183	91.34%	2,390
Logan	844	8.90%	8,643	91.10%	9,487
Mesa	11,439	15.33%	63,683	84.77%	75,122
Mineral	135	21.33%	498	78.67%	633
Moffat	667	10.52%	5,676	89.48%	6,343
Montezuma	2,643	21.16%	9,848	78.84%	12,491
Montrose	2,867	23.79%	17,924	86.21%	20,791
Morgan	1,433	12.28%	10,235	87.72%	11,668
Otero	1,122	13.43%	7,234	86.57%	8,356
Ouray	1,033	32.02%	2,193	67.98%	3,226
Park	1,808	17.73%	8,387	82.27%	10,195
Phillips	203	9.01%	2,050	90.99%	2,253
Pitkin	3,556	35.75%	6,391	64.25%	9,947
Prowers	519	11.57%	4,391	89.43%	4,910
Pueblo	12,272	16.11%	63,900	83.89%	76,172
Rio Blanco	266	7.98%	3,068	92.02%	3,334
Rio Grande	860	15.88%	4,555	84.12%	5,415
Routt	3,496	25.43%	10,192	74.57%	13,668
Saguache	911	32.27%	1,827	66.73%	2,738
San Juan	163	34.98%	303	65.02%	466
San Miguel	1,829	44.93%	2,242	55.07%	4,071
Sedgwick	153	11.52%	1,175	88.48%	1,328
Summit	4,610	29.52%	11,009	70.48%	15,619
Teller	1,803	12.79%	12,297	87.21%	14,100
Washington	170	6.34%	2,512	93.66%	2,682
Weld	20,037	15.24%	111,477	84.76%	131,514
Yuma	394	8.39%	4,300	91.61%	4,694
Total	568,683	21.23%	2,109,868	78.77%	2,678,551

Aftermath

Reactions

Irene Aguilar, a lead supporter of Amendment 69, responded to the results by saying "[w]in or lose, the issue of guaranteed access to healthcare for everyone without financial barriers was finally brought before the voters." Lyn Gullette, a ColoradoCare YES staffer, promised to continue campaigning for universal healthcare, saying that while "we wish we had done better, there’s no way we’re going to stop working." ColoradoCare YES spokesman Owen Perkins criticized the language used to describe Amendment 69 on the ballot, arguing that "nowhere did it say what state residents would save [money] in the long run."

The Colorado Hospital Association said it was pleased that Amendment 69 was rejected by voters. "It was too risky, too uncertain and unaffordable for Colorado," the association wrote in a statement. Dr. Katie Lozano, president of the Colorado Medical Society, who largely opposed ColoradoCare, said the amendment’s failure does not show approval for the state's current healthcare system. "Our members expressed deep dissatisfaction with the current system, for their patients and their practices ... there are too many barriers to good care and too many hoops to jump through to get insurance to cover care for patients."

See also

• 2016 United States ballot measures