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[Denver Dave]

Governor Ritter Signs Eight Health Care Bills
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI) announcement - June 4, 2010

Governor Ritter Signs Eight Health Care Bills

On May 26, a small crowd gathered at The Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado to watch as Governor Bill Ritter signed into law eight pieces of legislation all aimed at improving Colorado's health care delivery system.

"Because of these efforts, because we didn't wait for Washington, Colorado is now one of the best-positioned states in the nation to effectively implement health care reform. Working with the legislature, we are once again delivering a package of laws that will improve quality and contain costs," said Ritter during the signing ceremony.

As the signing ceremony began, Legislators gathered around the podium to talk about the bills to be signed

One of the bills signed was HB10-1330, sponsored by Representative Kefalas and Senators Kagan and Morse. This bill creates an All-Payer Claims Database. This measure will help increase transparency within the health care system. Specifically the bill will make public information regarding safety, quality, cost, and efficiency at all levels of the health care system in Colorado. All of this information will be compiled into a database making it easier for lawmakers and consumers to see where flaws exist in the healthcare system.

Governor Ritter signing HB10-1332 with sponsor Rep. Miklosi

Also signed into law was HB10-1332, the Medical Clean Claims Act. This bill streamlines and standardizes insurance claims and will cut down the cost of care in Colorado. Currently, different insurance carriers use different bill coding systems. Health care providers must spend a significant amount of time making sure that they are coding your care correctly to your insurance provider. HB10-1332 creates a unanimous system by which insurance providers must code their bills. This will save time, allowing more of our healthcare dollars to be spent on providing the highest quality care.

The remaining bills that were signed included HB10-1021, HB10-1228, SB10-106, SB10-110, SB10-153, SB10-167.

CCHI's Policy Associate, Bob Semro, Appointed to the 1293 OAB Cost Shift Data Work Group

In 2009, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 1293, “The Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act”. The law is already being implemented in Colorado and it will fund the most significant expansion of public healthcare coverage to low income Coloradans in recent years. The expansion will be financed through a hospital provider fee that will be matched with funds from the federal government.

As part of that implementation, the Colorado State Legislature created an Oversight and Advisory Board that has been assigned the task of comparing the cost of care provided to the payment received by hospitals. To assist with that assignment, the Oversight and Advisory Board has created a “Cost-Shift Data Work Group”. The group, comprised of external advisors will charged with making recommendations to the Board regarding the data to be used in the development of objective standards to measure the impact of increased Medicaid reimbursements and eligibility on the need for hospitals to shift the cost of uncompensated and under-compensated care to private payers. It will also help to demonstrate the value of the publicly-funded programs.

CCHI’s Policy Associate, Bob Semro has been appointed to serve as one of the consumer representatives on that work group. The Cost Shift Data Workgroup will meet periodically over the summer and will produce its final recommendations by early Fall 2010. Congratulations Bob!

Division of Insurance Releases 2009 Report: Marketplace Activity for Small Group Health Plans

The Division of Insurance released a new report showing that fewer small business employers provided health benefits to their employees in 2009. The report cited that there was a decline in the number of small group plans by 10% and a decline in the number of covered lives by 13%. The report also found that of the 21 companies in the small group market, only 16 still sell new policies. To see the full report, and other key findings, click here.

Commissioner Morrison commented on the report saying, "It's clear that fewer people are being covered by small group health plans, but we do not know what happened to those who have left. Some people may have switched jobs, found their own insurance, become uninsured or left the state. Overall I am concerned about the continuing decrease in the number of small employers offering health benefits to their employees. This speaks to the increases in health care costs amidst a dismal economy."
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--The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Staff

Chloe Benson
Healthcare Advocate
http://cohealthinitiative.org/