Mental health, workplace violence, and cost transparency will all be healthcare priorities for Colorado lawmakers when they start the 2024 legislative session in January.
Legislators discussed accomplishments made during the 2023 session and priorities for the upcoming session at the 2023 Colorado State of Reform Health Policy Conference last week.
Rep. Lindsey Daugherty (D-Arvada) said she focused on affordability and patient care during the last session, and implementing policy to address those issues requires bipartisan support.
“Transparency has become something that’s bipartisan,” Daugherty said. “Having input from both sides is the best way to make policy. So transparency in healthcare is something I think we’ll continue to see.”
Two bills Daugherty supported aim to increase transparency in healthcare. Senate Bill 179 requires dental insurance carriers to report specified spending information to the Division of Insurance. SB 252 requires hospitals to make their Medicare reimbursement rates public.
“It requires hospitals to make public a list of all standard charges,” Daugherty said.
Sen. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora) said she was proud legislators protected the reproductive rights of women during the session. Gov. Jared Polis signed three bills in April that shield out-of-state patients, expand insurance coverage, and stifle deceptive advertising for anti-abortion centers.
“The people of Colorado have been telling us they want women to be able to make their own personal choices as it relates to their reproductive rights,” Fields said. “I’m proud of that.”
Fields noted that the legislature also addressed gun violence, as Polis signed four bills regulating firearms in April.
“If you want to have a gun, you have to have a background check. It used to be (that) the state would pay for it. That’s no longer the case. Now, if you want to have a gun, that individual has to pay for their own background check. I’m pleased that this state has not put on their blinders and just ignored the increase of gun violence that is taking place in our community. I’m proud that we’re addressing violence.”
— Fields
Both Daugherty and Rep. Rose Pugliese (R-Colorado Springs) said they will prioritize mental health during the upcoming session. Pugliese said she has a daughter who has a rare genetic disorder, and had trouble trying to find a mental health professional for her when the family moved from Grand Junction to Colorado Springs.
“In the last eight months, I’ve been acutely aware of the mental health crisis,” Pugliese said. “I was on a waitlist and couldn’t find anybody. I was a little shocked to learn I couldn’t find a mental health professional for my 12-year-old in a more urban area. So I can’t imagine what’s going on in rural areas of the state.”
Pugliese finally found someone to care for her daughter through private pay, but she works three jobs, and said not everyone can afford to do that.
“Not everyone has the ability to do private pay, or can even find someone,” Pugliese said. “I want to bring all the stakeholders together, (and) have some really good substantive conversations around our mental health workforce because what we’re finding is you can throw money at the issue—and I’m not saying we don’t need money to put into the system—but if you don’t have the mental health professionals, I don’t know what we’re putting money into.”
Pugliese also has concerns about the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB), which is currently considering the affordability of drugs it may consider for upper payment limits.
“Before I was a legislator, I was testifying against the board. I’m worried about access for my daughter’s very expensive medications. I had to advocate for my daughter and try to find access. I continue to have concerns around the PDAB because I want to make sure every mom has access to the medications their children need. It’s difficult to talk about affordability, but I don’t know that having a board that doesn’t know my child [be] in control of those decisions is where we should be as a state. I’d like to have more conversations around that.”
— Pugliese
Fields said she will prioritize workforce development during the upcoming session, as COVID-19 transformed many communities and exhausted resources. She said work conditions and wages need to improve, and workplace violence needs to be addressed.
“One of the things I’ll be looking at this year is our hospital workers,” Fields said. “Because when we think about how they sacrificed, there’s so many people that did the work while we were sheltered at home. But what has happened is, we’ve seen an increase in violence in workplaces where people are just plain rude. People don’t seem to have patience. And they’re going off on people who are just trying to do their job. I’m concerned about protecting those who are just trying to do their job.”
Sen. Jim Smallwood (R-Castle Rock) said he also aims to focus on workplace violence in healthcare settings.
“There is going to be legislation coming forward on that,” Smallwood said. “That’s very much overdue.”
Homelessness is also an issue that will garner Smallwood’s attention.
“Here’s what’s sad—when you bring forth an idea like we should do something different to help people with substance abuse disorders or behavioral health issues, you will quickly find yourself being accused of being heartless,” Smallwood said. “Folks need to have the freedom and responsibility to do what they want.
I’ll drive to the capitol in February in a snowstorm and see folks buried in their tents in a foot-and-a-half of snow and slush, and you have to ask yourself, ‘Is that the humane thing to do as a state?’ To leave people under bridges when it’s 10 degrees below zero, and say, ‘We’re being more humane?’ That’s what you hear at the capitol. Something has to be done. Obviously, those of us in the (state government’s political) minority have a harder time launching initiatives like that. But I’m hopeful that will change.”