Now that the long-bill has passed, many of the pieces of legislation CBHC are following this year are beginning to move through the process. With 26 days left in this legislative session, legislation will be moving quickly through the process. The following list of legislation was heard in committee this week.

SB08-006 Suspension of Medicaid Benefits—This legislation will allow the state to suspend rather than terminate Medicaid when an individual is placed in a state institution. These types of facilities include the state hospital, jails, and prisons. Although a great concept, there was some concern from state officials about the fiscal note, and the ability to cover the costs associated with the system change requirements. The good news is that it did pass unanimously out of the Senate Appropriations committee this week, and it appears that the JBC felt that this would demonstrate long-term savings, and has put money in the budget this year to cover this one-time cost.

SB08-007 Jail Inmate Assistance Programs—This legislation creates three demonstration sites around the state to develop jail inmate assistance programs for mentally ill offenders. This bill initially had a fairly high fiscal note, so it appeared it was going to die for lack of funding. At the last minute, with the tenacity of Senator Windels, and the commitment of the JBC members, a funding stream was identified for a good portion of this bill, and passed out of Senate Appropriations committee. If this bill passes in its current form, it will provide another $240,000 this year for programs targeted to help mentally ill offenders.

SB08-160 Expanding Children’s Health Care—This bill expands CHP+ eligibility from 205% to 225% of the FPL. The bill will allow the FPL to be raised further to 250% if additional funds are appropriated. Also, it improves the Child Health Plan’s mental health benefits package so it is equivalent to the Medicaid mental health benefits for children. This bill came about as part of the Governor’s building blocks for health care reform. If it passes, it will provide an additional $6 million for children’s mental health services.

SB08-217 Health Care Reform—This bill authorizes the creation of a program to reduce the state’s uninsured population and improve access to affordable health care. It allows the state to create and RFP for health plans to create policies for the uninsured populations of Colorado. Although CBHC has a few concerns with this legislation, some of our issues were addressed through amendments in the committee. We will continue to work with the stakeholder community and the bill sponsor to ensure this bill has a positive impact on the health care system. It did pass out of Senate Health and Human Services Committee with only one “no” vote.

SB08-220 Employment of Physicians by Health Care Facilities—This is the bill that CBHC initiated this year to change the statute that currently prohibits a CMHC from hiring a physician as an employee. We did add the FQHCs and Rural Health Clinics to this bill in the original draft, and added the School Based Health Centers by amendment in Committee. This bill passed out of Senate Health and Human Services committee with two “no” votes. It does not have a fiscal impact, so will next be heard by the Senate on second reading.

HB08-1072 Medicaid Buy-In—This legislation will allow the creation of a Medicaid buy-in program for individuals with disabilities who would otherwise be eligible for supplemental security income except for their income. This is a bill that will be very helpful for individuals with mental illness that are entering the workforce and fear what that will mean to their ability to continue to qualify for Medicaid. Although this bill has a significant fiscal note, the Appropriations committee members were convinced that this would be a wonderful use of state resources, and appropriated general fund dollars to the bill in committee. It is now awaiting hearing in the House on second reading.

HB08-1392 Mental Health Services for Children Involved in Abuse and Neglect—This bill creates the child welfare and mental health services pilot program in the department of human services for mental health screenings, evaluations, and treatment of children and their siblings who are involved in substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect. This bill passed unanimously out of House Health and Human Services committee.