Colorado committee advances bill to preserve no‑cost preventive care if federal guidance changes

Senate Bill 25‑196, a bill intended to preserve Colorado residents’ access to no‑cost preventive health services, was advanced to the Committee of the Whole after a 9‑4 vote by the House Health & Human Services Committee on an unspecified date.

The measure would require insurers to cover preventive services that are in effect as of January 2025 and would let the Division of Insurance adopt rules to modify coverage based on recommendations from a Colorado Nurse Physician Advisory Task Force if the federal expert bodies that currently set preventive service standards are altered or no longer provide guidance.

Sponsors told the committee the bill is designed to maintain the status quo for Coloradans amid uncertainty at the federal level. “We are trying to be proactive in maintaining the current level of preventative care that each and every one of us are experiencing,” Representative Jackson said. The sponsors said the bill would keep services stable if federal advisory groups change, and would also allow Colorado clinicians to update recommendations “based on science and evidence.”

Supporters said federal uncertainty makes state action prudent. Eric Waskowitz, senior policy manager at United States of Care, told the committee the Affordable Care Act’s preventive coverage requirements have been effective and that even small cost sharing can deter care. “Even a dollar or two in co‑pays is often enough to discourage people from getting that annual colonoscopy or flu shot,” Waskowitz said. Michael Conway, Colorado’s insurance commissioner, urged a yes vote, saying the bill would give Coloradans “assurances and certainty” about access to screenings, immunizations and other preventive services.

Insurance industry groups testified in an amend position and urged caution. Kevin McFatridge, executive director of the Colorado Association of Health Plans, said the proposal is premature because the federal preventive‑services framework administered by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) remains intact. McFatridge told the committee the bill “would create Colorado to be an outlier” and warned that codifying a fixed set of recommendations could “freeze outdated science into law.”

Carly Tebbutt, regional director for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), said health plans support access to preventive care but share CAP’s concerns and recommended that any Colorado task force have “similar guardrails as the federal process” including conflict‑of‑interest standards, public input processes and evidence‑based criteria.

Committee debate tracked that split: sponsors and the insurance commissioner emphasized continuity of coverage and the need to plan for a potential U.S. Supreme Court decision involving USPSTF recommendations, while industry witnesses warned against preemptive state action and urged clearer safeguards for a state advisory body.

The committee approved moving the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a most favorable recommendation. Roll call as captured in the committee record: Bradley — No; English — Yes; Bridal — Yes; Garcia Sander — No; Gilchrist — Yes; Hamrick — Yes; Johnson — No; McCormack — Yes; Stewart — Yes; Peter — Yes; (chair) — Yes; plus two additional yes/no votes recorded in the roll call that resulted in a 9‑4 tally. The transcript does not specify the full formal titles for all roll‑call entries beyond the names recorded.

Why it matters: Under current federal law — the Affordable Care Act — insurers are required to cover a broad set of preventive services without cost sharing when recommended by the USPSTF, HRSA or ACIP. Committee sponsors and the state insurance commissioner said a Supreme Court ruling could alter the federal framework; the bill aims to keep Coloradans’ access to preventive care intact and to provide a process for updating covered services if federal guidance changes.

The committee record includes requests from insurers for added procedural protections for any Colorado task force that might assume responsibility for recommending preventive services, and proponents said the bill already contains amendments developed in stakeholder meetings with the Division of Insurance.

The committee also heard statistics cited by sponsors: they said 82 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the ACA’s no‑cost preventive services and cited a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis that “in a typical year, about six in ten people with private insurance — about 100,000,000 — receive at least one preventive service or medication under the ACA.” The bill text and fiscal impacts were not discussed in detail during the recorded testimony.

The committee’s action sends SB 25‑196 to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.