Gov. Ritter Advances State Health Improvements
Wednesday, May 26 2010
AURORA ─ Gov. Ritter today signed eight pieces of legislation that will continue to make Colorado a leader in the delivery of quality health care, in improving efficiencies and cost-savings, and in preventing childhood injuries.
“For four years, we have delivered reform after reform to slow rising costs, improve quality and increase access,” Gov. Ritter said during a signing ceremony at The Children’s Hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Dozens of health-care providers and advocates and numerous state lawmakers attended.
“In difficult budget years, we have found creative ways to get the most value out of every dollar,” the Governor added. “Because of these efforts, because we didn’t wait for Washington, Colorado is now one of the best-positioned states in the nation to effectively implement health care reform. Working with the legislature, we are once again delivering a package of laws that will improve quality and contain costs.”
One of the main bills signed today was Senate Bill 167 (Boyd/Riesberg), the Medicaid Efficiencies Act, which will save taxpayer money by eliminating waste and improving efficiencies in the state’s Medicaid system.
“This bill will ensure that we are doing everything possible to make Medicaid as efficient, effective and tight a program as possible,” Sen. Betty Boyd said. “In light of the current budget situation and the growing Medicaid caseload, this bill couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m proud to be by Gov. Ritter’s side as he signs it into law today.”
“I’m proud to join Governor Ritter in presenting our next set of building blocks, another step in our common sense approach to health care reform,” Rep. Jim Riesberg said. “The Medicaid Efficiencies Act will reduce waste so that we can get better value out of every health care dollar. We have already saved millions by stepping up measures to stop fraud and abuse and this bill continues us down that path. In these tough budget times, we need to be more efficient and get the most out of state dollars.”
Gov. Ritter said he was pleased to sign the package of bills at Children’s Hospital because of its support of Senate Bill 110 (Williams/Ryden), which simplifies and strengthens Colorado’s current law by requiring all children ages 4-8 ride in a booster seat when in a car or truck. Booster seats have been shown to reduce injuries in children by 45 percent.
“This new law will protect our children, keep them safe and keep them alive,” Sen. Suzanne Williams said. Children’s Hospital says that over the past 10 years, 9,000 6- to 8-year-old children were injured in car accidents. Of those, only six were in a car seat. The most common injuries included spinal fractures, contusions, skull fractures and internal bleeding.
Also signed today:
House Bill 1330 (Kefalas & Kagan/Morse) improves transparency in the health care system by establishing a database of claims.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Rep. John Kefalas said. “This is especially true with our big, complicated health care system. Adding transparency about what medical procedures cost will help us drive down costs and increase value.”
“This bill represents a common sense solution to improve our health care system and lower costs,” said Sen. John Morse. “By creating one place to get information, we can give consumers the knowledge to make responsible choices about their health care and provide physicians with accurate and easily interpreted patient information.”
House Bill 1332 (Miklosi/Romer) streamlines and standardizes insurance claims and will cut down on duplication and bureaucracy that takes doctors’ time away from patient care.
Senate Bill 106 (Bacon/Looper) convenes key stakeholders to address improving access to healthy food within Colorado.
Senate Bill 153 (Boyd/Frangas) establishes a Behavioral Health Transformation Council to develop shared outcomes and to align services and funding for better care.
House Bill 1021 (Frangas & McCann/Foster & Boyd) ensures access to prenatal care for women in the individual market, improving birth outcomes and child health.
“This really changes the paradigm of health care for women in Colorado,” said Sen. Joyce Foster. “If you are not part of a group plan, with this bill you will be now able to buy individual insurance, which will cover maternity care. Pregnancy will not be considered a preexisting condition any longer. This is a huge step for women, their families, and Colorado.”
House Bill 1228 (Benefield/Hudak) removes dependents of state employees from state group health benefit plans when they turn 25 years of age and become ineligible for coverage.
Read these news releases for information about additional 2010 health-care legislation:
For a full list of Gov. Ritter’s 2010 legislation decisions, visit www.colorado.gov/governor or click here.
