Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Five moments that defined Colorado’s 2021 legislative session

Every legislative session in Colorado has its defining moments, but not every legislative session happens with a global pandemic as the backdrop.  And an economic downturn. And a contentious national election. And two mass shootings. And a national reckoning about race. So when a tornado even ripped through Weld County in the final hours of […]

Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government

Colorado Democrats’ big health care bill is headed to the governor’s desk to be signed into law

The Colorado legislature on Monday night sent a sweeping bill intended to drive down health care costs to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk, achieving an elusive goal for Democrats and launching the state into an experiment that could provide a roadmap for the rest of the country.  House Bill 1232 passed the General Assembly without the […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Colorado Democrats’ big health insurance bill was amended 21 times. Here’s how it has changed.

It was a public option bill, and then it wasn’t. It required the health care industry to cut costs by 20% at one point, but now that figure has been slashed by a quarter. For weeks, the legislation threatened doctors with fines and licensing consequences if they didn’t participate in the initiative, but now physicians […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Colorado Democrats’ big health insurance bill may deliver the nation’s lowest premiums. But much is still unclear.

In 2014, a thunderbolt struck the normally un-sizzling world of Colorado health policy: A report from the nationally respected Kaiser Family Foundation discovered that Western Slope resort communities had the highest prices for health insurance in the country. What followed was more than five years of work by lawmakers to lower costs, culminating this year […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Dark-money group spends record amount lobbying against Colorado Democrats’ effort to shrink health care costs

A national nonprofit working against Colorado Democrats’ bill to drive down health care costs in the state is setting spending records, with a dark-money nonprofit dropping nearly $560,000 to oppose the measure over a nine-month period. Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, funded by hospitals, insurers and other business interests, is now the top single-year […]

Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government

Colorado Democrats drop public health insurance option to pursue state-regulated plan instead after industry pushback

Colorado Democrats this week will offer a sweeping amendment that seeks to dramatically rewrite their bill to decrease health care costs after weeks of negotiations with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and private insurers that stalled the legislation’s progress at the Capitol.  If the amendment passes, some of the most powerful health care industry groups that have […]