Regulatory Relief for Colorado Hospitals
The core mission of Colorado hospitals is caring for patients and their communities. Yet, hospitals are diverting time, workforce, and financial resources away from providing direct patient care due to growing regulatory burden and systemic inefficiencies. This is at a time when families are struggling to afford basic health care services due to rising insurance premiums.
A member-led workgroup identified opportunities and built the legislation to address them. SB 26-138 passed with strong bipartisan support in both chambers, moving health facility licensure from annual to biennial, improving financial transparency reporting, and streamlining eligibility determination for Hospital Discounted Care.
Why It Matters
- An unsustainable regulatory load: Hundreds of new regulations in recent years – many of which overlap, conflict, and have no proof of decreasing costs or improving patient outcomes – are diverting funds away from patient care and forcing hospitals to spend millions of dollars on compliance efforts.
- Hospitals are at a breaking point: Facing billions in state and federal budget cuts that will impact patient access and care, nearly 70% of Colorado hospitals are already financially vulnerable due to escalating costs, declining reimbursement, workforce shortages, and an ever-growing regulatory load. Many state requirements duplicate federal rules or add new layers of reporting or compliance that consume resources hospitals simply don’t have.
- Streamlining regulations is a shared solution: The 2026 legislative session offers an opportunity for the state to modernize and align regulations – reducing duplication, easing administrative burden, and allowing hospitals to reinvest time and dollars back into patients, staff, and communities.
CHA’s take: Streamlining regulations strengthens Colorado’s health care system by prioritizing transparency, accountability, and meaningful results – while freeing hospitals to focus on what matters most: Delivering high-quality care.