Colorado, an Obamacare State

Colorado began early under the Ritter administration and shortly after passage to fully embrace the Affordable Care Act. The Hickenlooper administration followed suit by rapidly expanding Medicaid coverage and organizing health care exchanges.

Democratic-controlled states are implementing the law and Republican states are resisting it. Colorado has become a show state for enthusiastic implementation, along with states such as California and Minnesota.

The public divisions are as stark as the states’ different directions. The latest CNN poll shows 57 percent of the public oppose the law, with significant differences between the parties. Colorado citizens, according to a USA Today poll, oppose Obamacare by 52 percent.

 According to USA Today, more than $20 million of tax dollars has been spent informing and promoting the Colorado program. Also, it is being promoted by the state’s progressive think tanks, foundations, and much of the public and private health care industries.

With that level of effort, if Colorado’s program fails to have a smooth implementation, there is likely to be political repercussions in 2014.

See USA Today: Colorado: Microcosm of confusion on health law