Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley on Wednesday evening reversed course, stating he would not pursue an ordinance seeking to bar local hospitals from accepting patients from Weld County, adding his intent in doing so was to “to shine a light on how one group’s refusal to act in the public interest impacts us all.”
At issue was Weld County commissioners’ recent decision not to comply with the restrictions that come with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment elevating the county to red status on the state’s COVID-19 dial dashboard.
Because Weld County has refused to comply with the state’s orders to limit the spread of COVID-19, Weld residents need to be put to the back of the line when they seek medical care at Longmont hospitals, Bagley said Tuesday.
Any such ordinance likely would be illegal since it bumps up against a federal law that says no one can be passed over for treatment based on where they live, according to a Colorado Hospital Association spokesperson.
On Wednesday, Bagley issued a statement stepping back from the ordinance.
“Now that I have succeeded in bringing this issue to light, and now that people are aware of how Weld County’s decisions are affecting people in Longmont, I will not pursue an ordinance or denial of health care,” he stated in the email sent Wednesday evening. “My desire is to work with Weld County to ensure they comply with the lawful emergency orders so that we can all move forward in a positive and responsible manner. I will be discussing this matter with my fellow council members next week to explore solutions.”
The now-moot proposed ordinance and Bagley’s desire to pursue it drew heavy fire from Weld County commissioners.
“The answer to this pandemic is not solely to close down small businesses the week of Thanksgiving; it is not to continually punish working-class families or the individuals who bag your groceries, wait on you in restaurants, deliver food to your home while you watch Netflix and chill; and it is certainly not to illegally deny health care to residents. But this is what this simple mayor wants to do,” commissioners said in a statement Tuesday.
Weld County is not an “‘anything goes’ county, it is a ‘make the best decisions for yourself and your business’ county, because we trust our residents to do what is best for themselves, their families, their businesses and their community,” the commissioners stated. “If the mandates put in place months ago worked, why are the numbers going up along the Front Range.”
