Health care bills advance in state legislature

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Health care issues are playing a prominent role in this year's session of the Colorado Legislature.

People interested in the issue are watching closely as the so-called 208 Commission does its work. Established last year by Senate Bill 208, the 24-member commission has until November to come up with a comprehensive health care plan for the state.

Mark Wallace of Greeley, a physician and member of the 208 Commission, made an appearance in Fort Collins Jan. 18 to talk about the work of the group. "There's a lot of agreement that we need to do something," he said, adding that Colorado could be a leader in health care reform if a good proposal comes out of the commission's work.

Meanwhile, legislators are not waiting until November to try to improve health care in Colorado. "We're not going to sit on our hands," said freshman representative John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, who represents House District 52. "There are a number of bills that I think will move us forward this year."

Kefalas is a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee.

He pointed to several examples of legislation that would, if passed, increase access to prescription drugs and medical care.

One piece of legislation, House Bill 1021, could also save Colorado a half-million dollars in the first year, Kefalas claimed. Modeled on a Wyoming program, the bill would offer financial incentives to pharmacists to talk to Medicaid patients about the medications they are taking. The goal is to make patients better informed about options and the interactions among different drugs.

"It's proven to reduce costs," Kefalas said. The bill would establish a pilot program targeting 226 high-cost Medicaid patients.

Kefalas is sponsoring HB 1026. The bill would effectively allow state universities to offer affordable health insurance to graduate students, thus increasing access to health care. Most state schools have such a system in place, so the biggest impact would be on Colorado State University.

Both bills have passed out of committee.

SB 1, which passed out of committee on Jan. 24, would allow the state to negotiate lower prices for generic prescription drugs. The medications would then be made available, through participating pharmacies, to people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private health insurance.

SB 2 would increase access to health care for foster children. Currently foster children lose their Medicaid benefits when they turn 18, and this bill would extend the benefits until age 21, allowing these youth to get established in school or jobs while they still have insurance.

The 208 Commission will send out requests for proposals by the end of February. They will choose three to five proposals for evaluation, then submit the plans to rigorous scrutiny as to cost and effectiveness. The commission is mandated to come up with a health care reform plan that will expand health care coverage to the uninsured and decrease costs for Colorado.

Colorado is in "a very unique situation now," Wallace said, with formation of the commission and Gov. Bill Ritter's endorsement of the process. He said the November deadline will be a challenge, however. People need time to put together good proposals, he noted, and it will also take time to properly evaluate them.