Committee moves SB 45 — privately funded School of Public Health study of payment models — to appropriations

Representative McCormick and co-sponsor Speaker Pro Tem Biesenacker described Senate Bill 45 as a legislatively commissioned analysis by the Colorado School of Public Health examining health‑care payment systems and their feasibility for Colorado. Sponsors emphasized the study’s scope and public‑process requirements and said all costs will be covered by private gifts, grants and donations routed through the CU Foundation; they also noted the School of Public Health expects to pursue grant funding to supplement the account.

Witnesses from the Alliance for Colorado Healthcare and allied nonprofits told the committee they have organized fundraising plans, committed volunteer fundraising staff and intend to begin events and donation collection once the bill is enacted. Witnesses said the study will be transparent, include broad stakeholder input and be staffed by the school’s modeling team, which has prior experience with micro‑simulation models used in past state analysis.

FINANCIAL AND PROCESS POINTS: Sponsors and witnesses repeatedly told the committee there is no state appropriation requested in SB 45. Witnesses said donors will place funds with the CU Foundation and that the bill’s deliverables and public process make the study a matter of public record and open stakeholder engagement. Several members pressed over fiscal and policy questions but witnesses and sponsors emphasized the bill’s focus on an evidence‑based public study rather than direct policy adoption.

VOTE: The committee voted to send SB 45 to the Committee on Appropriations; the committee recorded a roll that passed 8–5.

ENDING: Sponsors urged support for a transparent, evidence‑based analysis; some committee members expressed skepticism about single‑payer models based on prior experience, but sponsors and proponents said the study’s purpose is to surface options and data, not to adopt a single model on the committee’s behalf.