Sen Bennett's Meets Chamber Group in Commerce City

by Dustin McIntyre

Colorado Senator Michael Bennett speaks to the Metro North Chamber crowd on Thursday at the Commerce City Civic Center.

One of the main issues of discussion for Bennett was the current hot topic Health Care.

Bennett, presenting power point slides with stats including the median for a Colorado Family Income in down by $783 and Health Care Premiums are up 97% made his point clear.

And what was the point the Senator was trying to make?

For that we go to the Gateway News Twitter: "Sen Bennett on Current Health Care talk in Commerce City, let us all agree that we can not keep doing what we are currently doing now. 1 day ago"

After covering the Ed Perlmutter King Soopers health care event, I knew first hand how passionate this issue is for certain individuals.

But, Bennett is not all talk, he does have a plan of action that is "shovel ready" and he laid it all on us that morning.

It goes as follows:

Senator Bennett's 6 ways we can bend the cost curve and improve care.

1. Change incentives so they are based on the quality of care, not the quantity of care. The Medicare fee-for-service system pays based on the number of procedures not the quality of care.

2. Coordinate Patient Care, Rocky Mountain Health Plans has shown that there is substantial savings when doctors focus on working together in the best interests of the patient, instead of working without talking to each other.

3. Spend more money on preventative care, and less on chronic conditions. Many chronic conditions could have been prevented with proper preventative care.

4. Increase competition, The 2 largest health insurance companies in Colorado own 53% of the market share. In some rural areas one company's market share can be as high as 80%.

5. Use cost saving technology, We are spending $77 billion every year that could be saved with the use of technology.

6. Bundle payments, Bundling payments will slow down cost growth, change the system so we're paying for performance outcomes, and provide better coordinated care for patients.