Barbara was raised in Lakewood, Colorado, the third of four children born to a wonderful set of parents. They taught her to be honest, hard-working, thrifty, and curious. Summers were spent at their mountain home or climbing Colorado’s Fourteeners; winters were spent skiing and snowshoeing. Barbara earned a degree in journalism from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. After graduation, she was one of 12 journalism majors in the country to be selected as a Pulliam Fellow in Indianapolis. However, her heart was still in Colorado, so she accepted a job with the Durango Herald. While there, she wrote about life in the Southwest and created an environmental column, for which she won an award for best column in the state.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has shown us just how important it is to have access to affordable healthcare. We have seen what can happen if our healthcare systems are overburdened and our frontline workers are overworked. Still, our healthcare workers have performed admirably in the face of an unexpected crisis.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, 40 percent of Colorado employees didn't have access to paid sick leave. As a caucus, we knew that the lack of paid sick leave would only exacerbate the current crisis. Hardworking Coloradans deserve to be able to take a day off to recover with having to worry about not being able to put food on the table or pay for rent.
In the coming months, access to healthcare will be vital to the health of our state. That's why I support the expansion of Medicare to cover primary care and allow for anyone to opt into the program.
This proposal would bring down monthly insurance prices, without increasing state funding for the program, thanks to younger, lower-risk patients opting into the insurance pool.
Additionally, private insurance will be used for specialized care. This approach will lower the cost of private insurance rates, as they would no longer be responsible for primary care, and be more competitive.