The high cost of childcare and its burden on working families is a hot topic in our community. Yet consider this: one of the best ways to make childcare more affordable for local families is to reduce the high cost of healthcare. Every dollar increase in health insurance premiums is a dollar that a family doesn’t have to pay for childcare and other basic needs.

This year Local First Foundation’s partnership with Peak Health Alliance saved $350 on average for each of 1,730 residents of southwest Colorado who purchased more affordable health insurance through Elevate Health Plans. Learn more about these plans here. Market competition also induces other insurers to keep a lid on their premiums.

While these savings may seem like a drop in the bucket, it’s instructive to place them in perspective: collectively they add up to more than $600,000, which is in league with tax funding that Plata County residents approved to support affordable housing and childcare through a reallocation of the County Lodgers’ Tax.

It’s easy to feel hopeless when it comes to rising healthcare costs. Giant insurance companies tell us they are just passing on rising prices charged by hospitals and drug companies, who offer a litany of reasons for their charges. This finger pointing is getting us nowhere.

Our community has begun to see what may be possible through collective action that brings the community voice to the table where decisions are made that shape our destiny. There is so much more that we can do together to build a better healthcare experience for everyone.

We are grateful to local healthcare providers like Animas Surgical Hospital, Southwest Health System, Pagosa Springs Medical Center, and Axis Health System that are helping to make more affordable healthcare possible in our community. We look forward to dialog with CommonSpirit Health to learn how they will be part of the solution for our community.

Local First Foundation is excited to grow our partnership with Peak Health Alliance over the coming year to continue crafting innovations that will make healthcare more affordable and thereby more accessible for the people of southwest Colorado.

You can support our efforts by making a tax-deductible contribution to Local First Foundation online here. Every gift, big or small, makes a difference. Our goal of raising $10,000 to grow our mission represents a 60-fold return on the $600,000 saved for our community! Thank you for your support.