HB 16-1420 Summary

• Creates the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise as a government-owned business within the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, effective July 1, 2016, to administer a hospital fee program and leverage federal matching funds.

• Authorizes the enterprise to charge hospitals a healthcare affordability and sustainability fee on outpatient and inpatient services, with fee revenues used to increase hospital reimbursements, expand public medical assistance eligibility, and provide consulting services to hospitals.

• Establishes a 13-member enterprise board appointed by the governor with hospital representatives, health insurance carriers, consumer advocates, and state department employees to oversee fee collection and recommend fee amounts to the state board.

• Creates a healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund (continuously appropriated) to pay for increased hospital reimbursement rates, expanded Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults and children, quality incentive payments, and enterprise administrative costs.

• Repeals the existing hospital provider fee program and its oversight board, and appropriates $146.7 million ($73.1 million in fees plus $73.5 million in anticipated federal matching funds) for fiscal year 2016-17; bill does not take effect if federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determines it violates federal law.