DENVER, COLO. – Feb. 11, 2025 – Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) responds to the introduction of House Bill (HB) 25-1174, which seeks to reduce revenues to hospitals by imposing rate-setting restrictions on selected hospitals.

The bill, which has a misleading title, purports to provide financial security to the Community Health Clinics. These clinics are vital to the state’s health care system and they, like hospitals, are struggling with Colorado’s failed Medicaid re-enrollment effort following the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Colorado has nearly 700,000 uninsured patients, and that growing number contributes to the current financial emergency faced by health care providers. Unfortunately, this bill does not solve the underlying problem, which requires state attention on enrolling patients in coverage they need and qualify for.

In response to the bill, Jeff Tieman, CHA president and CEO, remarked “Colorado’s community health clinics need to be safeguarded, but arbitrarily moving resources around the health care system does not meaningfully address the system-wide coverage gap. HB 25-1174 is misguided policy that harms hospitals when most are managing through difficult financial conditions. We cannot deplete one part of our safety net to save another.”

This idea misses the mark. It is deeply disappointing that the governor and legislators would seek to further destabilize hospitals when they face ongoing financial challenges and unprecedented federal uncertainty. Colorado hospitals should not be left to pay the price for the state’s ineffective re-enrollment, especially as dramatic Medicaid cuts appear on the horizon. In addition, rate setting further shifts costs across payers and does not enable reimbursement for the continued surge of uninsured patients.

Lawmakers should instead focus on solutions that support the entire system and force meaningful accountability for the state’s failures. Hospitals – despite 70 percent not earning sustainable margins – are a vital part of the safety net system and already contribute $5.6 billion annually toward access and affordability in Colorado.

CHA and its member hospitals stand shoulder to shoulder with community health clinics knowing that access to primary and mental health care is key to keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital. In that spirit, CHA is developing regulatory reform ideas to control cost growth and protect quality health care throughout the state.

About Colorado Hospital Association

Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado. Learn more at www.cha.com.

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