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Senate committee advances bill to use state funds so Medicaid patients can continue care at Planned Parenthood
Summary
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee advanced a bill to allow Colorado to use state-only funds to pay claims to federally prohibited entities such as Planned Parenthood while federal Medicaid matching is unavailable, citing canceled appointments and rural provider gaps.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on the special-session floor advanced Senate Bill 25B002 on a favorable recommendation as amended, a measure sponsors say will let the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) use state-only funds to pay Medicaid claims to providers excluded from the federal Medicaid program.
Supporters told the committee the bill is an urgent response to a federal change in HR 1 that removed Planned Parenthood from the federal Medicaid program and led to canceled appointments and interruptions in care. Senator Bridges, a sponsor, said the federal decision singled out Planned Parenthood for political reasons and the state must act to protect health care access for Coloradans.
The bill’s sponsors and witnesses described the immediate effects of the federal action and why state-only funding is needed. Jack Teeter, vice president of government affairs at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said, “We are…
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