Colorado lawmakers propose bills to bolster funding for Medicaid and safety net providers
As funding uncertainty continues for Medicaid and Medicare programs, competing bills in the Colorado legislature aim to find solutions.
According to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, over two million Coloradans receive financial assistance for health care.
Whether through federal programs like Medicaid or Medicare and state-run initiatives like the Insurance Clinic Program and Hospital Discounted Care Program, that care is typically administered by safety net providers, a subsection of health care facilities that provide services to uninsured, underinsured, and low-income patients.
Katherine Mulready, senior vice president of the Colorado Hospital Association, said safety net providers have continuously operated on low margins, but things worsened exponentially in 2023.