FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2010
Contact: Mike Krause, Operations Director, 303-279-6536, or mike@i2i.org
National Doctors Group, Colorado Restaurant Association Endorse Amendment 63
Support for Health Care Choice Amendment Continues To Grow
Golden, Colorado – Both the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Colorado Restaurant Association have signed on as endorsing organizations for Amendment 63, the “Right to Health Care Choice” citizens’ amendment.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons has served as a voice for private physicians since 1943, and is actively engaged in fighting against government and insurance company control of medicine. That fight has included filing suit against Obama Care in federal district court, and working with legislators on model legislation concerning state prohibition on federal insurance mandates.
“This measure is critically important for preserving medicine as we know it,” said Dr. Jane Orient of the AAPS about Amendment 63.
The Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA) has roughly 4,500 restaurant members, and another 200 allied trade members that provide Colorado with more than 230,000 jobs and generate $8 billion in annual combined sales.
“Obviously we are thrilled to have these fine organizations throw their support behind health care choice in Colorado,” said Independence Institute president Jon Caldara. “Doctor and patient focused groups like AAPS and industry trade associations like CRA have seen the devastation of health care mandates through Romney Care in Massachusetts, and it makes sense that they would want to avoid those consequences for health care in our state.”
If passed, Amendment 63 would write into the Colorado Constitution that the State of Colorado cannot force its citizens to purchase a public or private health insurance product, either on its own, or on behalf of the federal government. In other words, Colorado would not be able to implement a Massachusetts-style insurance mandate (otherwise known as Romney Care) nor enforce the federal individual mandate passed as part of Obama Care.
The amendment would also constitutionally protect fee-for-service health care by ensuring the right to pay out of pocket for lawful health care services and products if you so choose. Even if Colorado were to implement a single-payer health care system, Coloradans would be free to participate in voluntary, lawful exchange with a health care provider outside the system.
The AAPS and CRA joins a growing list of amendment 63 supporters that includes the National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado, current and former elected officials including Congressman Mike Coffman and former Governor Bill Owens, newspapers such as the Colorado Springs Gazette and Pueblo Chieftain, and numerous Colorado doctors and other professional health care providers.
For a complete list of Amendment 63 endorsements see the Amendment 63 website: http://www.amendment63.org/endorsements/.
The Independence Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization based in Golden, Colo.
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