As Democrats at the state Capitol near the introduction of the long-awaited and hugely controversial bill to create a public health insurance option, Colorado hospitals on Tuesday unveiled their counteroffer.

Their proposal is a “total-cost-of-care” model — essentially a big health spending budget for the state. An independent commission would be charged with setting a target to limit how much health care spending in the state can grow each year.

“It is all providers, all payers, for all Coloradans,” said Chris Tholen, the CEO of the Colorado Hospital Association. “It really is a focus on a common shared goal.”

It is also, clearly, the hospitals’ attempt to steer lawmakers away from a public insurance option, which many hospitals despise because it likely will give regulators the ability to tell hospitals how much they can charge people covered by the public option.

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