Colorado Health Care Affordability Act to be Announced at 1 PM Thursday

Gov. Ritter, legislative leaders and healthcare advocacy groups to present new bill.
 
WHAT:  A press conference announcing the new Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act, which will be introduced on Thursday. The proposal would provide health coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans.
 
WHO:  The following people will be speaking at the event:
   Gov. Bill Ritter
   Sen. Moe Keller, chair of the Joint Budget Committee
   Dr. Patty Gabow, CEO, Denver Health
   Bob Ladenburger, CEO, St. Mary's Hospital, Grand Junction
   Kelly Stahlman, board member of CCHI

   Bill Lindsay, president, Lockton Benefits Denver
                                
WHEN:  1 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26
 
WHERE: Denver Health Medical Center, Pavilion for Women and Children, 790 Delaware St., 1st Floor Rotunda, Denver, CO 80204.
                    

The pavilion is located 4 blocks west of Broadway between 7th and 8th avenues on the east side of the street.Parking is available across the street.

Eliminate the 6% Arveschoug-Bird Provision 

Today Senate Bill 228 was introduced in the legislature and passed the Senate Finance Committee by a vote of 4-3.  The measure seeks to eliminate the six percent Arveschoug-Bird general fund appropriations provision.  The Arveschoug-Bird provision requires governing by formula, rather than by the state's needs and priorities. The Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved supports eliminating this provision because of the dramatic potential impact it will have on our state's ability to invest in programs and services that support children and families. 
 
The Arveschoug-Bird provision has handcuffed our state's ability to support working families and their children. Instead, our elected representatives are forced to make decisions based on an arbitrary formula - not on the needs of our children or the priorities of our citizens.
 
If we don't eliminate the six percent provision, general fund cuts made now will effectively be permanent.  When the economy recovers, and the one-time federal stimulus goes away, other states will restore their investments, while the ratchet effect of the six percent provision will keep Colorado at recession-level spending.  That's bad for jobs, bad for our economy, and bad for Colorado kids and families.   
 
Getting rid of this outdated rule will help Colorado get out of this recession faster than we otherwise would, help us reduce poverty and mitigate its harmful effects on kids, and hopefully put our state back on track.

CHIP REAUTHORIZATION

On February 4, President Obama signed the "Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2009" into law. The new law will provide health coverage to an additional 4 million uninsured but eligible children and retains CHIP coverage for 7 million more.  Moreover, the law reauthorizes the CHIP program until FY 2013 at increased funding levels (an estimated $32 billion in new spending over 4.5 years); provides grants for specialized outreach initiatives to eligible but uninsured Native American children; provides states with a new option to cover pregnant women; offers grants to entities that conduct outreach to increase enrollment in CHIP for eligible and uninsured children, with priority given to initiatives targeted to children in rural areas or those proposed to address racial and ethnic health disparities and cultural and linguistic barriers; permits states to cover legal immigrant children and pregnant women who have been in the country for less than five years; provides dental coverage for low-income children, and increases money available for interpreters and translations for persons who do not speak or understand English well. The law, unfortunately, applies the citizenship documentation requirement to CHIP for the first time, but does allow states the option of having applicants for CHIP and Medicaid meet the requirement by having their names and Social Security numbers matched by the Social Security Administration.  It also provides that people must get Medicaid or CHIP benefits for a reasonable time while they are trying to acquire documents to prove their citizenship.  
 
Please call Senators Udall and Bennett and Representatives DeGette, Polis, Salazar, Markey and Perlmutter and thank them for supporting children's health care by voting for a strong SCHIP reauthorization.

Legislative Report (February 16)

Bills Supporting:

HB1020 EXPEDITED MEDICAL PROGRAM REENROLLMENT
Rep. Acree & Sen. Spence
Directs the department of health care policy and financing to establish a process for reenrollment in Medicaid and the children's basic health plan both over the phone and the internet.

HB1102 HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY STUDY

Rep. Acree & Sen. Scheffel
During the 2009 interim, requires the health care task force to study the portability of health insurance after a policyholder has separated from employment.

HB1111 HEALTH RESOURCES FOR UNDERSERVED AREAS
Rep. Massey & Sens. Boyd and Schwartz
Creates the primary care office in the prevention services division in the department of public health and environment to identify areas of the state that lack sufficient health resources and to coordinate available federal and state programs to maximize medical reimbursements, grants, and the placement of health care professionals, defined as a licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse, a mental health practitioner, or a physician assistant, within those areas. Specifies the office's duties, including applying for federal designation of certain health care shortage areas for the purpose of maximizing resources through administration of specified state and federal programs, including the health care provider loan repayment program and allowing for Conrad 30 J-1 visa waiver programs to be used to serves areas in need. Creates the visa waiver program fund. Transfers responsibility for administration of the loan repayment program from collegeinvest in the department of higher education to the office, and changes the name to the state health care professional loan repayment program. Increases the number of members on the health care community board that provides recommendations for implementing the loan repayment program and includes that board in the primary care office. Requires the office to provide staff assistance for the board. Directs the board to review the existing health care professional loan repayment programs and recommend to the governor and the general assembly whether to consider consolidating the existing health care professional loan repayment programs in Colorado. Makes conforming amendments.

HB1116 CHILDREN'S DENTAL PROGRAM MONEYS
Rep. Frangas & Sen. Hudak
Repeals the intent of the general assembly that general fund moneys not be used to implement the children's dental assistance program. Allows the children's dental plan cash fund to include general fund appropriations.

HB1164 SURCHARGE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS LICENSE PLATES
Rep. Primavera & Sen. Kester
Adds a $25 surcharge to the cost of a new or replacement breast cancer awareness license plate or to renew such plate. Allocates the surcharge to a new account within the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund to pay for costs to expand eligibility for the program under Medicaid to women who are screened through providers that do not receive federal funds through the centers for disease control and prevention's national breast and cervical cancer early detection program for their screening activities.

SB159 DEPENDENT HEALTH CARE COVERAGE
Sen. Sandoval
Changes the age of an individual for which a carrier is required to offer dependent coverage for an additional premium form 25 to 30.

Other bills are under consideration by CCMU's Health Policy Committee.