Transcript Legislative Update - e 4 enterprise.com

CHARM
Beverly Razon, Public Affairs Director
COPIC was intimately involved in the passage of the Health Care
Availability Act (HCAA) in 1988. The HCAA has afforded physicians a
stable environment to practice medicine in Colorado; keeping liability
premiums predictable. Over the years, as the HCAA has been
challenged at the legislature, COPIC has been the leader in financing
campaigns to defend the Act and developing strategies to protect it
going forward. COPIC works vigorously at building trusted
relationships with candidates, elected officials and regulators. COPIC’s
continuous, singular message is the importance of protecting
Colorado’s tort reform in order to defend access to safe, quality care.
Executive
Branch:
Democratic
Governor
John
Hickenlooper
General Assembly
Senate
House
• 18 Republicans • 31 Republicans
• 17 Democrats
• 34 Democrats
In May 2013, Governor John
Hickenlooper announced the
administration’s health policy
agenda, The State of Health:
Colorado’s Commitment to
Become the Healthiest State.
The stool has 4 legs:
Prevention
Access
Quality
Cost
2013
2014
2015
•Increased the
eligibility for Medicaid
•Created first
commission on
affordable health care
•Established the Health
Care Exchange
Oversight Committee
•Increased funding for
Medicaid
reimbursements and
behavior health
•Reduced training
hours to allow APN
prescriptive authority
•Established and
funded a state run
Health Care Exchange
•Created a statewide
coordinated
behavioral health
crisis response
system
•Made investments in
oral health and
health technology
•Expanded the types
of licensed
professionals who
may provide mental
health care for minors
(ages 15 and 18)
Health policy bills succeeded or failed in nearly equal numbers
during a 2015 legislative session largely defined by split party
control. The sometimes contentious debates set the stage for a
number of issues to return as bills or ballot initiatives in 2016.
- Colorado Health Institute, Legislation in Review Report, 2015
Three key themes marked the session:
Victories for Value: What Worked
Bills designed to increase efficiency in the health care sector by cutting red tape or allowing licensed
professionals to expand the scope of their allowed work won bipartisan support.
Vacillating Between Costs and Benefits: What Sometimes Worked
Bills that both parties agreed had merit but carried big price tags saw mixed outcomes. Differing
views on the role of government in health care also fell into this category.
Victims of the Culture Wars: What Didn’t Work
Most bills that involved partisan politics and culture war issues failed, almost always in a committee
hearing.
- Colorado Health Institute, Legislation in Review Report, 2015
HB15-1029
CONCERNING COVERAGE UNDER A HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES DELIVERED
THROUGH TELEMEDICINE IN ANY AREA OF THE STATE.
•Colorado Medical Board Telehealth Policy Revisions
HB15 -1039
CONCERNING THE DONATION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS BY LICENSED HEALTH CARE
FACILITIES.
HB15-1075
CONCERNING THE AUTHORITY FOR A REGISTERED NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR TO TREAT CHILDREN
WHO ARE UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE.
HB15 – 1242
CONCERNING THE RIGHT OF A MEDICAL PATIENT TO DESIGNATE ACAREGIVER TO ASSIST THE
PATIENT WITH BASIC TASKS FOLLOWING RELEASE FROM A MEDICAL FACILITY.
SB15-71
CONCERNING THE ABILITY OF A PHARMACIST TO SUBSTITUTE ANINTERCHANGEABLE BIOLOGICAL
PRODUCT FOR A PRESCRIBED BIOLOGICAL PRODUCT WHEN CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE SATISFIED.
Beverly Razon
[email protected]