State Legislation

2017 Health and Wellness Bills

We focus on health and wellness as one of our pillars for a strong economy because a healthy workforce is happy, present and productive—and creates a competitive advantage for our region.

Have a question about a position we’ve taken? Call us at 303-620-8088 or email us at publicpolicy@denverchamber.org.

  • Position Key
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  • Oppose
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  • STATUS Key
  • Passed
  • Failed
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Bill # Title Summary Position Justification Materials Pillars Status
HB17-1094 Telehealth Coverage Under Health Benefit Plans

This bill clarifies that insurance companies cannot restrict or deny coverage of telehealth services based on the communication technology or application used to deliver the telehealth services, thereby improving low-cost access to health care for people in rural parts of the state.

The Chamber supports the necessary clarifications to the telehealth law in this bill because it will continue to improve rural patient’s access to quality health care through the use of technology and results in lower cost of care.
HB17-1247 Patient Choice Health Care Provider

This bill prohibits a health plan from managing the size of their network by removing their ability to choose which providers can be on the network.

This bill is a mandate that interferes with private contracts and restricts carriers’ ability to create their own network as a strategy that can help businesses and their employees contain costs of health care.

HB17-1286 State Employee Health Carrier Requirements

This bill requires that any insurance carrier that provides services to the state must also participate in the individual market, in Medicaid or the children’s basic health plan and offer individual market plans in at least two Colorado counties with the highest average premiums.

This legislation sets a dangerous precedent by putting into statute a mandate for how and where a business must operate as a condition of doing business with the state.
HB17-1307 Family And Medical Leave Insurance Program Wage Replacements

This bill creates the family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program in the newly created Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance in the Department of Labor and Employment. The division would provide partial wage replacement benefits to eligible individuals who take leave from work to care for a new child or a family member with a serious health condition or who are unable to work due to their own serious health condition. The bill expands employer coverage to employers with one or more employee as compared to the 50-employee threshold under the FMLA.

This bill would be costly and burdensome for employers as they would be required to implement an additional employee payroll deduction. It would also impose significant administrative and operational costs.
HB18-1001 FAMLI Family Medical Leave Insurance Program

This bill creates the family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program, providing partial wage replacement benefits to eligible individuals who take leave from work to care for a new
child or a family member with a serious health condition or who are unable to work due to their own serious health condition. The bill expands employer coverage to employers with one or more employee as compared to the 50-employee threshold under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

This bill would be costly and burdensome for employers, particularly to small businesses, as they would be required to implement an additional employee payroll deduction. It would also impose significant administrative and operational costs for the state which would be required to administer an insurance program with little certitude of solvency in an economic downturn.
HB18-1009 Diabetes Drug Pricing Transparency Act 2018

This bill requires drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers to report information regarding diabetes drug prices and related profits. The information from the report is to be posted on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s website.

The Chamber is working with more than 30 organizations to identify industry-wide strategies that address Colorado’s rising health care costs. While this bill highlights an existing challenge within our healthcare system, we are concerned that this proposal exceeds the state’s legal jurisdiction. There is uncertainty regarding the state’s ability to require federally regulated companies to submit data; additionally, there is considerable inconsistency in the types of pharmaceutical organizations this regulation would impact.
HB18-1097 Patient Choice of Pharmacy

This bill prohibits a health plan from controlling costs by choosing which pharmacies to include in its networks.

Chamber members have consistently identified rising cost as the biggest concern with regard to health care. This bill undermines the ability of health plans to negotiate with pharmacies to provide patients with lower-cost options thereby making it more costly for businesses to afford these benefits.
SB17-003 Repeal Colorado Health Benefit Exchange

This bill repeals the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Act, effective Jan. 1, 2018, and allows the exchange to continue for one year for the purpose of winding up its affairs.

The Chamber, along with more than 100 diverse stakeholders as part of the Colorado Health Policy Coalition, has identified a set of principles that we urge Congress to consider when examining a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We oppose a repeal of the ACA without a clear replacement because of the uncertainty and potential cost increases a repeal without replacement would create for businesses.
SB17-057 Colorado Health Care Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise

This bill repeals the Hospital Provider Fee and enacts the Colorado health care affordability and sustainability enterprise as a state business outside of the revenues used for evaluating TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) and Referendum C cap levels. The enterprise would charge and collect a new Hospital Provider Fee and would implement and administer the state Hospital Provider Fee program.

Last year, the governor imposed a $100 million reduction in Hospital Provider Fee (HPF) collection to help balance the budget for Colorado, which resulted in the loss of an additional $100 million in matched funds for Colorado by the federal government. This year that number increased to $195 million, and it will continue to rise exponentially unless reclassification of the HPF is addressed.

SB17-088 Participating Provider Network Selection Criteria

This bills requires health insurers to disclose the standards they use to construct and market their provider networks. It also requires carriers to outline a process by which providers may seek reconsideration if a carrier decides to make changes to, terminate or deny participation in its provider network.

This bill is a mandate that interferes with private contracts and restricts carriers’ ability to create their own network as a strategy that can help businesses and their employees contain costs of health care.
SB17-151 Consumer Access to Health Care

This bill imposes new mandates on how insurers should make decisions pertaining to authorizing providers, health care services and coverage, particularly removing the requirement that the insured receive a referral before seeing a specialist.

This bill is a mandate that interferes with private contracts, and with the ability to directly visit a specialist, will increase health care costs.
SB18-146 Freestanding Emergency Departments Required Consumer Notices

This bill requires freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) to disclose information to potential patients regarding the type of facility in which they’re seeking care as well as costs and coverage associated with care.

The Chamber is working with more than 30 health care organizations to identify industry-wide strategies that address Colorado’s rising health care costs. Throughout this process, requests for transparency and continue to emerge. The disclosures required in this bill could help patients make more informed decisions about the health care services they receive.
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