A single department makes up over half of the state’s $1 billion increase in general fund spending in next year’s budget proposal. And it’s not the one you might think.
If you ask state lawmakers or Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the headline of the 2024-25 budget proposal is that the state plans to fully fund K-12 schools for the first time since the Great Recession. But the Department of Education isn’t actually getting any additional general fund dollars next year to do so.
Instead, it is the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing that’s responsible for most of Colorado’s state budget growth. The proposal calls for HCPF to get $512 million more than in this fiscal year’s operating budget, an 11.5% increase.
Here are the three biggest reasons why.
1. Medicaid spending is up, even as enrollment drops.
Enrollment in Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income people, has been dropping over the past year, as expanded eligibility rules put in place during the pandemic expired. Next budget year, which starts July 1, it’s expected to drop again to 1.3 million recipients — down from 1.4 million this budget year, and 1.7 million at its peak.
But state spending on Medicaid services is still projected to rise by $325 million in next year’s budget proposal. What gives? The people losing coverage tend to be younger and healthier, according to legislative budget documents. Meanwhile, health care costs for seniors and those with disabilities are rising faster than what the state will save due to the enrollment drop.
2. Child health plan enrollment soars.
During the pandemic, enrollment in Colorado’s Child Health Plan Plus, or CHP+, plummeted because many families that used to enroll in it became eligible for Medicaid under the federal government’s expanded eligibility rules.
The public health insurance program was designed for pregnant women and parents with young children who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. So now that Medicaid enrollment is dropping, families are signing back up for CHP+ in large numbers. Enrollment is expected to rebound to 2020 levels this year, then surpass previous highs next budget year, costing the state general fund an additional $44 million.
Adding to the cost, the federal government is also winding down a pandemic-era funding bump for the program.
3. Health care provider rates rise.
Most Medicaid providers would receive a 2% increase in reimbursement rates in the proposed 2024-25 budget, as lawmakers look to address health care worker shortages and clinic closures. That’s far less than the 6.7% average increase state workers are owed next year, and well below the rate of inflation. But it still adds up to a $56 million pay bump from state taxpayers.
Medical specialities up for a rate review this year, including autism treatment and dentistry, would get another $61.5 million in targeted increases. Lawmakers also plan to increase the minimum wage for those who work in home and community-based services, which help the elderly and people with disabilities live independently.
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MORE: Just because general fund spending on K-12 isn’t increasing, doesn’t mean the state won’t spend more on schools.
To cover the increase in K-12 spending, lawmakers plan to spend $794 million from the State Education Fund next year, a $332 million increase from the current budget. The spending plan also calls for tapping the education fund to pay for a $43.5 million increase in categorical spending on programs such as special education, and a voter-approved health school meals program that isn’t generating enough tax money to cover its costs.
Here’s the issue: None of these are one-time expenses, and the State Education Fund can’t sustain this level of spending forever. That means that to continue fully funding schools and deliver on promised property tax cuts, lawmakers will eventually have to find more money in the general fund budget for K-12. That will put pressure on other state services.
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO: Impeachment resolution against Colorado’s Secretary of State introduced in state House
ELECTION 2024
John Padora tries — and fails — to bounce Trisha Calvarese from Democratic special election nomination in CD4
Democrat John Padora is trying to invalidate rival Trisha Calvarese’s vacancy appointment as the party’s nominee for the June 25 special election in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
Padora’s spokeswoman on Saturday afternoon sent an email blast to reporters alleging that because Calvarese hadn’t been registered as a Democrat in Colorado for at least 12 months before the April 3 vacancy committee meeting where she was appointed the party’s nominee, she was ineligible.
The spokeswoman cited 1–4-402, a provision in state election law that says “any candidate nominated by a political party must be affiliated with the party for at least twelve consecutive months prior to the date the convention begins, as shown in the statewide voter registration system.” Calvarese’s state voter file shows she registered in Colorado and as a Democrat on Dec 16, 2023, less than four months before she was appointed as the party’s nominee. She voted in the presidential primary election in March.
“Our intention is simply to hold the party leadership accountable for this discrepancy,” Padora said in a written statement. “This is about following the order of law and ensuring these important processes are upheld with the utmost integrity.”
Padora, an addiction recovery advocate who lives in Severance, said the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, which handles elections matters, told him it didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter and punted it to the Colorado Democratic Party. The party disagrees with Padora’s interpretation.
“Candidates have to be a Democrat for at least 12 months immediately preceding the convention,” CDP Chair Shad Murib said in a written statement. “Ms. Calvarese says she meets this requirement, and there is no residency requirement for Congress.”
In other words: Even though there may appear to be a residency requirement in state law, there’s not one in the U.S. Constitution, and so state requirement is moot. (U.S. House candidates must live in the state where the district that they are running to represent is, but they don’t have to live in the district.)
Calvarese, a Colorado native who until recently was living in Pennsylvania, told The Unaffiliated that “I’m in compliance with the statute.”
“I’ve been registered as a Democrat since college,” said Calvarese, a former congressional and campaign staffer who lives in Highlands Ranch.
So where does that leave things? It doesn’t appear Padora has another avenue to challenge Calvarese’s eligibility. And with Election Day fast approaching — ballot certification happens April 26 — there may not be enough time anyway for the vacancy committee to meet again and select a new Democratic nominee.
But Padora may try to raise the issue at the Democratic 4th District nominating assembly Thursday that will help determine who makes the ballot for the primary election on the same day as the special election.
Keep in mind: Calvarese and whoever wins the Democratic primary in the 4th District face an uphill battle. The district is extremely favorable to Republicans. Padora’s complaint may only make that battle harder.
Also, don’t forget Padora got annihilated by Calvarese in the vacancy committee vote earlier this month that determined the Democratic nominee for the special election. She won 64.5% of the delegate vote to Padora’s 35.5%. So it’s not as if he’s trying to overcome a narrow loss. He wants the whole thing tossed.
MORE: In case you’re wondering, Padora, a Pennsylvania native, registered to vote in Colorado on Oct. 29, 2021, after he and his family moved here from the Keystone State.
His voter file shows he didn’t vote in the March presidential primary, though he cast ballots in the November elections in 2023, 2022 and 2021. He also voted in the 2022 primary.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
COURTS: A Denver District Court judge has scheduled a three-day trial starting May 6 in the lawsuit filed by a group of conservative groups and figures challenging the legality of Colorado’s new transportation fees. The fees were enacted through a bill passed by Democrats in the legislature in 2021. The lawsuit was filed in 2022. The plaintiffs — including Americans For Prosperity and Michael Fields, who leads the conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado —previously overcame an effort by the state to have the case dismissed.
ELECTION 2024: Conservative commentator Jeff Crank said he raised more than $300,000 in the first quarter of the year for his campaign to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District and that he began April with about $225,000 of cash in his campaign’s account. Crank is running in a Republican primary that includes Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams and state Sen. Bob Gardner.
COLORADO LEGISLATURE: Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum, a Democrat, is withdrawing from the race to represent state Senate District 5 in western Colorado. Bynum said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was a “difficult and personal decision” and that she is “excited to continue serving our community in other ways.” Bynum’s exit from the race sets up a November faceoff in the swing district, currently represented by Republican Sen. Perry Will, between Democrat Cole Buerger, a small business owner, and state Rep. Marc Catlin, a Republican.
TV AD: ! U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert aired a new TV ad Monday night during the NCAA Division I national basketball championship game. The basketball-themed spot features her son Roman touting the Republican congresswoman’s stance on the Second Amendment, immigration, energy and federal spending. The family-themed ad, which makes it clear she’s in Windsor, comes as Boebert is trying to improve her image among suburban voters, particularly women, ahead of the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District on June 25.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Denver Public Schools and former DPS board member Auon’tai Anderson have agreed to pay a combined $25,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a parent whom Anderson blocked on Facebook. Lawyers for the parent, Even Chen, announced the settlement Monday. The blocking happened in July, when Anderson was still a member of the school board. “Other officials across the state should take notice,” Andy McNulty, one of Chen’s lawyers, said in a written statement. Anderson told The Unaffiliated he is grateful the case is over, and pointed out that he didn’t admit guilt as part of the settlement. “I’m not an elected official, so I believe the settlement agreement is clear that I will not block her if I’m an elected official (again),” he said. “I retain the right to block her from all social media channels while I’m not an elected official.”
THE DENVER GAZETTE: Colorado Democrats ban Sheena Anne Kadi from party activities
THE DENVER POST: Ken Buck’s empty seat leaves Colorado’s Eastern Plains with no voice in Congress. Will it matter?
KUNC: Ballot measure filed to repeal Colorado lawmakers’ open meetings exemptions
COLORADO NEWSLINE: New state office would be barrier-breaking hub for Coloradans with disabilities
THE BIG STORY
Highlights from the Republican congressional, statewide assemblies in Pueblo that didn’t make headlines
A lot happened at the Colorado GOP’s congressional and statewide assemblies over the weekend that didn’t make headline news.
Here’s a rundown:
On the candidate nomination front:
Some other highlights from the assemblies:
MORE: The Colorado GOP, aka Chairman Dave Williams, has been lashing out at Republicans who disagree with Williams’ decision to bar and remove a Sun reporter from the statewide assembly Saturday. (The decision has garnered national and international attention and Donald Trump has even weighed in to support Williams.)
Williams also used the occasion to endorse U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District. He did so in a social media post replying to a message from conservative commentator Deborah Flora, one of Boebert’s primary rivals, calling the reporter’s removal “a violation of the First Amendment.”
STORY: Colorado Sun politics reporter kicked out of GOP state assembly
CNN: Hear from journalist booted from GOP event over her “unfair reporting”
DENVER 7: Reporter kicked out of Colorado GOP state assembly after being told her work is “unfair”
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN: Reporter ejected from Colorado Republican assembly for “unfair” coverage
COLORADO POLITICS: Colorado GOP ejects reporter from its state assembly, calling news outlet’s coverage ‘very unfair”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Corrections & Clarifications
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