CO SB168

Creates the Colorado Health Care Authority, an independent state entity tasked with designing a Colorado Health Care Cooperative to serve as the primary benefits administrator and payer for health care services.

Establishes a nine-member board appointed by the president of the senate, speaker of the house, and governor to oversee cooperative design and development in collaboration with affected stakeholders.

Requires the board to develop comprehensive recommendations on cooperative structure including payment systems, benefit design, provider reimbursement methods, health information technology infrastructure, and financial operations transparency.

Mandates the board submit a report to the general assembly by November 3, 2012, which if approved must be referred to voters for final approval before implementation.

Specifies the cooperative shall provide comprehensive medical benefits based on Medicare coverage, including dental, vision, hearing, chiropractic, and long-term care services, and function as secondary insurance to other coverage.