Congress and the Affordable Care Act

A new Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation looks at the current congressional fight over derailing implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

CRHC's Bill Tracker

The bill tracker is updated through February 25. Enjoy!

Impact of Health Reform on Colorado’s Economy

A new Colorado Trust issue brief titled “The Future of Colorado Health Care: An Economic Analysis of Health Care Reform and the Impact on Colorado’s Economy” sheds light on what the budgetary impacts of federal healthcare reform may be on Colorado families, businesses, and the state. The findings of the study project lower growth in healthcare costs and increases in economic activity and jobs due to national health reform efforts. Read more. 

Participate in Local Economic Development Survey

Make sure healthcare has a voice while participating in an innovative approach to economic development planning! Colorado is undergoing a new “bottom-up” approach to economic development planning by involving people at the local level. Check out the brief survey associated with this effort and make sure healthcare is heard! Your participation in the survey will add local voices to this process that will help chart our state’s direction as we move forward. Consider these facts:

• Assuming the same ratio of providers to overall population, Colorado will add 5,000 new healthcare jobs per year for the foreseeable future
• On average, one in eight Colorado jobs is in the healthcare sector. In rural counties, the average is closer to one in six jobs
• Taking into account multiplier effects, each healthcare job supports about two additional jobs
• Many healthcare providers are self-employed entrepreneurs

As a powerful economic engine across Colorado, healthcare must be at the table during economic development talks. For more information, contact Clint Cresawn at 720.248.2745 or 800.851.6782 ext. 255 or by email at ccr@coruralhealth.org. 

2011 Colorado Capital Conference, June 15-17

Senator Mark Udall has partnered with Mesa State University to co-host the Colorado Capital Conference in Washington D.C. on June 15-17. The Conference will be a chance for Coloradans to learn about the political process, hear directly from national leaders, and take home ideas about how you can effect political change. Applications must be submitted online or postmarked by March 15, 2011, and attendees will be announced on April 18, 2011. Learn more and submit your application.  

CRHC Bill Tracker and Budget Update

Check out the current bill tracker for updated information on health-related legislation moving through the General Assembly. CRHC has taken official positions on four bills and is monitoring several others.

We are also watching budget activities closely. Supplemental bills to balance an additional $145 million for the rest of this fiscal year (ending on June 30) have passed the House and Senate, with final issues being worked out by the Joint Budget Committee (JBC). Governor Hickenlooper released his FY 11-12 budget proposal earlier this week, which calls for difficult and painful cuts in state spending to balance a projected $1 billion deficit. While few areas of the budget were spared, significant cuts in K-12 education were proposed along with several health-related measures including Medicaid benefit reductions and a 0.5% provider rate cut. The Legislature will now begin their work to set the budget, beginning with JBC figure-settings. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing hearing is scheduled for March 8. Another important day is March 20, when the next revenue forecast will be released. This forecast will indicate if further cuts are needed or if things are starting to pick up. Stay tuned.

Rural Medicare Beneficiary Access to Primary Care

A policy brief by the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis assesses U.S. primary care physician and general surgeon willingness to accept Medicare patients and the reasons for not accepting these patients. The study finds that overall rural physicians are more likely than urban physicians to accept all new Medicare patients.

Because it is critical that rural America’s elderly have physicians willing to accept new Medicare patients, how Congress addresses the temporarily-resolved Medicare physician payment issue will be of great concern to rural providers and communities. Read more about the President’s two year plan for the Medicare “doc fix” included in his recent budget proposal.

Governor Hickenlooper Releases Budget Proposal

Today Governor Hickenlooper submitted his budget proposal for FY 11-12 to the Joint Budget Committee. Read the report and other documents. This proposal now moves to the General Assembly, where the proposal will be debated and may be changed. Several healthcare-related cuts have been proposed, including $13.2 million in Medicaid program reductions and a 0.5% Medicaid provider rate reduction. We are continuing to review the proposal and will be providing additional information. 

Repealing the 1099 Provision

A new Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation describes efforts to repeal the so-called 1099 provision in the Affordable Care Act. The provision was designed to help finance the expansion of health insurance coverage by ensuring that businesses reported and paid tax on certain income. President Obama has called for repealing this provision; the Senate has voted to do so; and the House is likely to do so in coming weeks. Read more. 

Updated CRHC Bill Tracker Posted

Enjoy!

Boosting the U.S. Healthcare Workforce

A new article in Health Affairs by John Iglehart discusses the challenge of addressing the nation’s healthcare workforce shortages, suggesting that any efforts will require federal funding and creative solutions from Congress and the White House.

Stories Needed in Support of Insurance Expansions

As posted on CRHC’s bill tracker, HB11-1025 is a bill to repeal the Hospital Provider Fee. The Colorado Hospital Association is leading efforts, in collaboration with other organizations including CRHC, to oppose HB11-1025. Since its passage two years ago, the Provider Fee has helped increase access to healthcare for medically underserved Coloradans and reduced the amount of uncompensated care provided by hospitals without drawing on Colorado’s General Fund. To protect the Provider Fee, as well as current and future coverage expansions, please share your story if you have benefitted from expanded coverage (or will benefit from future expansions) by emailing Alicia Haywood at ah@coruralhealth.org.  As a reminder, the expansions include: increase Medicaid eligibility for parents from 60% to 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL); increase CHP+ eligibility for children and pregnant women to 250% FPL; option for people with disabilities to buy into the Medicaid program up to 450% FPL; and allow eligibility for adults without dependent children up to 100% FPL. 

Updated Bill Tracker Now Available

Click to read CRHC's updated bill tracker.

Update on federal health reform

In March 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law. Since that time, states began planning for implementation and some also filed lawsuits challenging ACA’s constitutionality. 

The 112^th Congress that convened in January has weighed in. Last month, the US House of Representatives voted to repeal ACA and has charged several committees with working on a replacement bill. The US Senate will also vote on repealing ACA, as early as this week. The repeal vote in the Senate is not expected to pass and the President has pledged to veto repeal legislation. Both political parties do agree that certain provisions in ACA, specifically a tax-filing requirement on small businesses, should be eliminated but disagree on how to pay for the fix.

Despite Congressional votes, it seems that the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately decide the ACA's final outcome. In response to lawsuits filed against ACA, two federal judges have already ruled it partially or wholly unconstitutional, but two others have upheld the law. These lawsuits have been appealed and it could take 1-2 years before the cases reach the Supreme Court. Many states, including some that filed lawsuits, are continuing their implementation efforts (read about Colorado’s work to date) while others are re-evaluating their efforts. In the meantime, ACA provisions continue to roll out.   

What happens next? We’ll find out together…

Impact of health reform on uninsured Coloradans

The Colorado Health Institute’s new issue briefs highlight the impact of health reform on reducing the number of uninsured Coloradans and identify groups that may not readily benefit from efforts to expand health insurance coverage, specifically “medically vulnerable” Coloradans and families with mixed insurance status.