Health Care Affordability Act

The Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 is one of Colorado's most effective reforms, but the program it fostered could be in jeopardy because budget-cutters in Washington are targeting the federal funding that makes the act work.

As talks continue on deficit reduction and increasing the debt ceiling, a number of proposals are zeroing in on the federal matching funds that cover hospital "provider fees" and help support Medicaid funding. Colorado is not alone among states that could lose funds.

Yesterday, during a hearing of the House Health and Environment Committee, Rep. Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs, ended his attempt to repeal the hospital provider fee that became law in 2009. Upon his request, the bill died by a unanimous vote.

Bob Semro, a policy analyst at the Bell, was scheduled to present an Opportunity Note on the hospital provider fee and the Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 (House Bill 1025) to the House Health and Environment Committee on Tuesday. The Bell opposes the bill, which would overturn the act.

Here are excerpts of the Opportunity Note. For pdf version, click here.

By Rich Jones
Director of Policy and Research
The Bell Policy Center

Posted on Colorado Trust's Community Connections blog

Colorado and the nation are slowly beginning to recover from the most wrenching economic recession since the Great Depression. However, even as the economy recovers, revenues to fund public services such as Medicaid are not likely to return to pre-recession levels any time soon.