Senate appropriations panel advances bill to end new Medicaid benefit for community health workers after hours of testimony

The Senate Committee on Appropriations advanced Senate Bill 25-229 after hearing roughly two dozen minutes of witness testimony and a round of floor questions from committee members. Senator Jerry Bridges moved the bill; amendment J001 was adopted before the roll call.

The measure would end a Medicaid reimbursement benefit for community health workers (CHWs), patient navigators and promotores that the Legislature enacted in 2023. Supporters of the benefit told the committee that the state had already invested in implementation and that repealing the benefit would forfeit federal matching dollars and undermine ongoing programs.

The witnesses who urged the committee to vote no included Andrea Dwire, who identified herself as with the Alliance of Colorado Community Health Workers, Patient Navigators, Promotores de Salud and as a public health practitioner at the University of Colorado School of Public Health. “Please oppose Senate Bill 25-229,” Dwire told the committee, saying Colorado programs were already using planning grants and other state funds in anticipation of the Medicaid benefit. She cited analyses she said showed returns on investment and savings when CHWs are reimbursed through Medicaid.

Mary Faltinski of Boulder County Public Health described…