Weiser’s plan takes aim at the affordability crisis with specific, actionable steps to lower housing and health care costs for Colorado families

Contact:

Katie Farnan

‪(720) 383-7269

[email protected] 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Denver, CO – NOV 13, 2025 – Attorney General and candidate for Colorado governor Phil Weiser today released a detailed plan to tackle Colorado’s housing and health care affordability crisis, laying out the most comprehensive and actionable set of solutions in the race.

Weiser’s plan calls for immediate executive action to cut red tape slowing construction, build more attainable homes, protect renters, and strengthen local housing partnerships, while taking decisive steps to stabilize health care costs for families.

“Coloradans are being priced out of their own communities,” said Weiser. “We must make it affordable for people to build their lives here. That means affordable homes, affordable care, and a government that moves fast to serve the people. As Colorado’s next governor, I’ll be ready to act on day one.”

BUILDING MORE HOMES AND LOWERING COSTS

Weiser’s housing plan combines immediate executive actions with long-term solutions to make housing more affordable and attainable for Coloradans in every part of the state and recognizes that solutions in the Front Range may not be the right solutions for rural communities throughout the state. Unlike other proposals in the race, Weiser’s plan recognizes that different communities require different solutions and lays out specific goals and clear implementation steps—from appointing a Chief Housing Officer to delivering 40,000 attainable homes statewide. In short, Weiser has set out a blueprint for exactly how Colorado can make housing affordable again.

Immediate executive actions:

• Appoint Colorado’s first Chief Housing Officer and sign an executive order on day 1 in office to streamline housing programs, eliminate redundant processes, and coordinate all state housing efforts
  
• Immediately establish a Colorado Housing Innovation and Coordination Team, a single access point for all state and federal housing funds with transparent quarterly reporting
  
• Crack down on corporate landlord abuses, continuing his work as attorney general to fight junk fees, hold out-of-state investors accountable, and ban algorithmic price collusion that inflates rents
  
• Launch an all-of-government review to eliminate red tape and speed up home construction permitting and approvals statewide
  
• Safeguard affordable homes already in place, enhancing statewide tracking of deed-restricted and naturally affordable housing

• Partner with rural communities to create flexible funding mechanisms for smaller, community-based affordable housing projects.
  
• Expand statewide Weiser’s existing COPERR (Colorado Partnership for Education and Rural Revitalization) program, creating more homes and training a new generation of skilled tradespeople across rural Colorado
  

Legislative & long-term solutions:

• Deliver 40,000 attainable homes statewide, aligning permitting, incentives, and construction support with achieving this target
  
• Increase renter protections, including legal support for people at risk of eviction and better safeguards against unfair rental practices
  
• Expand down payment assistance and new financing tools for first-time homebuyers and essential workers like teachers, nurses, and first responders so they can live in the communities they serve
  
• Incentivize local governments through legislation to lower permitting fees and provide quicker approvals and turnarounds for affordable housing construction
  
• Support innovation and workforce development in modular and prefab construction to lower costs and speed up building

“We’ll move immediately, on Day One,”  Weiser said, “because every day we wait, more families are pushed out of the communities they love. This is about protecting people’s ability to live where they work and build their lives here.”

“Phil Weiser shows up for rural Colorado,” said Rick Klein, retired La Junta City Manager. “He worked closely with my community and southern Colorado to develop an innovative program to provide more housing and create jobs. He’s a proven problem solver and will be a great Governor.” 

The full housing plan can be found at https://philforcolorado.com/affordable-homes-and-communities-meeting-colorados-housing-challenge/. 

MAKING HEALTH CARE MORE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE

With federal leaders in Washington, DC failing to fully protect Americans from skyrocketing health care costs, Weiser knows Colorado has to take action. His health care plan takes on rising costs and shrinking access with urgency and focus, combining immediate actions to stabilize the system with long-term solutions to make care more affordable and accessible for every family.

Immediate executive actions:

• Signing an executive order on Day 1 in office establishing a Health Care Stabilization and Innovation Task Force, bringing together experts to comprehensively investigate and assess the impact of federal cutbacks and chart clear steps to protect access and lower costs
  
• Activate the state’s Health Care Cabinet to operate more efficiently, stabilize near term risks, and lead long term design changes to lower costs and increase access.
  
• Continue his legal fight to defend access to care, building on lawsuits he brought as attorney general against federal rollbacks of the Affordable Care Act
  
• Direct the Chief Innovation Officer to modernize our state’s health systems, expand telehealth, and reduce administrative waste
  
• Strengthen consumer protections against medical debt, surprise billing, and monopolistic price-hikes through stronger enforcement and oversight

Legislative & long-term solutions:

• Align and modernize public insurance programs like Medicaid, CHP+, and Connect for Health Colorado to reduce costs and improve access for people
  
• Expand behavioral and mental health services, with new investments in mental health access for  young people, co-response teams, and community care
  
• Strengthen the health care workforce, expanding career pathways and rebuilding talent pipelines, broadly and for rural and under-resourced areas
  
• Rebuild Colorado’s public health system, restoring data capacity and prevention programs cut at the federal level
  
• Work to extend continuous Medicaid and CHP+ coverage for children and families, protecting critical coverage for the most vulnerable and at-risk

“Too many Colorado families are forced to choose between paying for health care or paying for their groceries,” Weiser said. “That’s unacceptable. We’ll act now—cutting red tape, defending coverage, and making sure every Coloradan can get the care they need when they need it, at a price they can afford.” 

“Rising costs for health care will be a critical challenge for Colorado and our next Governor,” said Sue Birch, a longtime health-policy executive, former Director of Washington’s Health Care Authority, and previously a senior Colorado state health official. “I am supporting Phil Weiser because he is committed to fighting for all Coloradans, is a true innovator, and will bring people together to meet the moment.  We need a leader who can ensure Colorado state government uses every tool available to lower costs, support better health outcomes, and protect access to health care.  Phil is that leader.”

Weiser’s full health care plan can be found at https://philforcolorado.com/health-care-affordable-health-care-that-serves-all/. 

Last month, Weiser released a summary of his comprehensive vision for Colorado’s future in The Colorado Blueprint, available  on the campaign website at philforcolorado.com/the-colorado-blueprint. This release is one of several the campaign is sharing over the coming weeks to provide a comprehensive vision for Colorado’s future.

Weiser launched his campaign in January 2025. Since then, he has earned endorsements from over 180 Colorado current and former elected officials, including Colorado trailblazers former Denver Mayor Federico Peña and former Governor Roy Romer, and from national elected leaders like Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Governor Maura Healey (D-MA), Governor Josh Stein (D-NC), and Governor Bob Ferguson (D-WA). For more information, please visit https://philforcolorado.com/. 

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