Colorado Senator Irene Aguilar, MD — one of the chief architects of Amendment 69 — will be stopping in Pagosa Springs tomorrow morning to have coffee with local citizens wanting to learn more about ColoradoCare.
The coffee meeting will take place at the Riverpointe Coffeehouse overlooking the San Juan River in downtown Pagosa, at 8am tomorrow, Wednesday June 29.
Amendment 69, if approved by Colorado voters in November, would create a universal healthcare system within the state that would eliminate the need for private health insurance. The controversial ColoradoCare program — first of its kind in the U.S. — would be funded by a payroll tax for employers and employees and by a non-payroll tax on investment and other types of income.
You can learn more at this website.
Irene Aguilar was born and raised in inner city Chicago, educated in Chicago Public Schools, attended Washington University in St. Louis on scholarship, and received her medical degree from the University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine. In 1985 she moved to Denver for her residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Aguilar worked for 23 years as a Primary Care Provider for Denver Health and Hospitals and now serves on their board of directors. During the Interim she practices medicine at Clinica Tepeyac, caring for the uninsured.
In November 2010, Dr. Aguilar made a decision to seek public office to advance the cause of universal health care. Senator Aguilar represents Denver’s Senate District 32 in the Colorado General Assembly and uses her position to advocate for access to quality affordable health care for all Coloradans and reinforce the safety net for people with disabilities.
In the Colorado Senate Dr. Aguilar serves as Assistant Majority Leader, chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and is Vice-Chair of the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Implementation Review Committee. She also serves on the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.
For those wishing to learn more about ColoradoCare, check out this Daily Post editorial series.