Up to 6,000 people living in Colorado who aren’t U.S. citizens are getting taxpayer subsidized health care in a new state pilot program under the Colorado option plan passed last year by the Democrat-controlled state legislature.
These are the higher costing plans Gov. Polis likes to brag are saving people money, which have pushed some insurance carriers to leave the state.
Companies covering the Colorado options plans have jacked up prices nearly 10% to cover the new benefits of plastic surgery, acupuncture, HIV prevention drugs, gender reassignment, mental health, and issues resulting from substance abuse.
You read that right. As Colorado taxpayers, you are now contributing to the insurance plan of non-citizens to get plastic surgery, acupuncture, gender reassignment and drug rehab.
CBS Colorado reports on what makes this pilot program appealing to non-citizens:
To qualify residents are only asked to provide name, income, household size, and address. The information clients are asked to provide is only used to determine one’s eligibility for financial help.
Prior to this pilot program, undocumented residents were able to purchase insurance through the state-run marketplace, but according to Kevin Patterson, the CEO of Connect for Health Colorado, some were hesitant because that sends some data to the federal government.
It sounds like Colorado has found a way to avoid reporting the data to the feds.
What this means for you regular U.S. citizens who are also subsidized but must report all your earnings to the IRS: when you unexpectedly make a little more than you reported, the IRS will levy a hefty fine on your ass.
Non-citizens don’t have to worry about that, because they don’t always pay taxes, and Colorado’s just not going to pass along their paperwork to the IRS.