Proponents of a single-payer state system gathered enough signatures to put ColoradoCare on the ballot, the secretary of state's office announced Monday.
They needed 98,492 valid signatures to put a state-governed health care system to a vote. After reviewing a 5 percent sample of the 158,831 signatures submitted, the secretary of state projected that the valid total would be 110 percent of the number required — and certified that Initiative 20, the "State Health Care System," will be on the 2016 ballot.
Residents would choose their own health care providers, but ColoradoCare would pay the bills.
The measure is likely to ignite a fiery debate because of the costs involved. Backers estimate ColoradoCare would raise $25 billion a year for health-care costs through a proposed 10 percent payroll tax. Critics decry it as a massive expansion of government that would double the size of the state budget.
