An unhealthy state of affairs.

• Author: Schwab, Robert
• Position: Rschwab@cobizmag.com

HERE I GO AGAIN, WRITING ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE, but what the heck, even Gov. Bill Owens, newly re-elected, said the issue is a top priority.

Colorado employers, employees and the unemployed may need the clout of a governor to convince this legislature to actually do something about the rising cost of health insurance in the state.

You may remember that last year the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce issued a white paper titled "Medicaid, the Uninsured, and the Impact on Your Business," which outlined a case for state lawmakers to intervene in the spiraling increase of uninsured citizens whose health-care treatment adds to the premium costs of those who do pay for insurance.

The legislature did little to nothing in response.

Since then, small business owners have been hit with 20 percent to 50 percent health-insurance premium increases, causing many to simply drop health insurance as a benefit for their employees.

Which creates larger ranks of the uninsured.

Which puts still more upward pressure on the cost of buying insurance.

On the same day Owens was re-elected, Oregon voters were asked to approve a tax-financed, universal health-insurance program for the state that some people said could cost Oregon $20 billion annually.

Voters said no way.

Ironically, a week before Election Day, Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt suggested to an audience of Colorado...