Universal health care experiment a tough sell in Colorado

Most voters have already received ballots in the mail and endured a long campaign to explain the measure, but huge questions remained at a meeting this week in suburban Denver to examine the proposal:

The measure would set up a $25 billion-a-year health care system funded by payroll taxes, replacing the system of paying private health insurers for care and opting out of the federal health care law.

Supporters are hoping to overcome those big questions with a simple recurring message — everyone hates the health care system now, so why not try a big change?

With Election Day looming, the plan is still being explained, as it was at a Rotary Club meeting Monday, where a crowd of mostly retirees heard the details over pork chops and dinner rolls.

"Everybody in the United States should have access to affordable health care when they need it, without having to file bankruptcy," said Ralph Ogden, an attorney who helped write the measure.

"The government does not have a strong track record of efficiency when running things like this," said Dick Pierce of Arvada, an 84-year-old retired sales executive who is worried he would have to spend some of his life savings subsidizing health care for younger folks.