The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal authorization to determine a member's eligibility for reenrollment without checking federally approved electronic data sources or requesting additional information if the member's income consists solely of social security income or another source of stable income or assets or if the member's income or assets have not changed since the initial verification during the application process. The act requires the department to modify the questions asked by medical professionals when verifying a member's need for long-term services and supports and allows a treating licensed medical professional who has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with a member to sign the documentation necessary to verify a member's need for long-term services and supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known or determined to be Indian children under state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes and modifies requirements related to the practice of veterinary medicine by a veterinary professional associate (VPA). In November 2024, voters in Colorado approved Proposition 129, which established the role of VPAs and permits VPAs, starting on January 1, 2026, to practice veterinary medicine under certain circumstances. The act specifies how an individual can register as a VPA in Colorado and clarifies the circumstances under which a VPA can practice veterinary medicine. The act clarifies that a VPA is only permitted to practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. A licensed veterinarian shall supervise no more than 3 VPAs who are practicing veterinary medicine at any one time. The act requires a licensed veterinarian and a VPA to enter into a mutual supervisory agreement before the licensed veterinarian and the VPA begin working together. The supervising licensed veterinarian may delegate the practice of veterinary medicine to the VPA if: The aspects of the practice are within the training, experience, and competency of the VPA; The practice of veterinary medicine delegated to the VPA is permitted under requirements of state law and board of veterinary medicine (board) rules; and The supervising licensed veterinarian and VPA are located at the same veterinary premises while practicing veterinary medicine, unless the VPA meets certain indirect supervision requirements. The act instructs the board to adopt rules regarding the practice of veterinary medicine by VPAs, including rules that: Require a VPA to practice veterinary medicine under an appropriate level of supervision by a licensed veterinarian; Determine clinical benchmarks that a VPA must meet in order to practice veterinary medicine under indirect supervision by a licensed veterinarian; Approve a nationally recognized VPA credentialing organization that requires a VPA to complete a university-approved VPA program that is approved by the board or a university-approved VPA program that is accredited by the nationally recognized credentialing organization, pass a VPA examination, and complete continuing education requirements; Provide guidance to supervising licensed veterinarians in their delegation of tasks to and supervision of VPAs; Determine a scope of practice for VPAs; Establish a registration fee for the registration of VPAs; and Determine continuing education requirements for VPAs. The board may also adopt rules establishing an equivalent registration pathway for a veterinary technician specialist to register as a VPA, which pathway considers the veterinary technician specialist's experience, education, and training as a substitute for the education requirements needed to register as a VPA and requires the veterinarian technician specialist to pass the same national credentialing exam as a VPA. The act requires a VPA to identify themself as a VPA to a client before practicing veterinary medicine on a patient. The act requires a licensed veterinarian to comply with certain restrictions when prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law limits to 10 years the time a school district can lease district property not needed for its purposes. The act allows a school district to lease district property for any term of years for purposes of a solar field, energy storage system, or affordable housing. If a board of education of a school district leases or rents property for the purposes of an affordable housing project, the board of education shall develop a policy that defines affordable housing for the project. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds statutory protections for in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive health-care procedures. Current law requires gamete banks and fertility clinics (donor banks) to maintain donor identifying information and update it every 3 years. The act requires donor banks to encourage donors to inform the donor banks of significant updates to the donor's medical history after the donor made a donation. The donor bank is then required to document that significant medical history update. Current law prohibits donor banks from interfering with an adult donor-conceived person communicating about the gamete donor with the donor-conceived person's friends, family, or other third parties. The act encourages donor banks to provide information to donor-conceived persons regarding the physical and emotional risks associated with releasing a donor's private information to outside parties. The act repeals certain provisions relating to gamete donor record stewardship in the event of donor bank dissolution, bankruptcy, or insolvency and eliminates the requirement that donor banks inform a recipient parent about future implications about a gamete donor's medical history or other persons conceived using the same gamete donor. Current law requires the department of public health and environment (department) to draft written materials that must be provided to individuals prior to donating or receiving gametes. The act maintains that requirement, but does not require donor banks to use the department's written material. Donor banks are permitted to develop their own written materials to meet the statutory requirement of providing certain information to an individual prior to donating or receiving gametes. The act eliminates the department's ability to perform on-site inspections or perform in-person investigations on donor banks located outside the state. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act removes the term "homosexuality" from the definition of sexual conduct in the sexually explicit materials harmful to children part of the "Colorado Criminal Code". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law does not allow a voice court reporter to administer an oath or affirmation. The act adds voice reporters to the list of professionals who may administer an oath or affirmation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning January 1, 2027, the act: Allows a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to earn income derived from the assessment of a flat-dollar service fee for the provision of a prescription drug; Prohibits a PBM from earning income based on the price or cost of a prescription drug; Prohibits a PBM from designing a formulary to favor a certain branded pharmaceutical or biologic; Requires a PBM to be reimbursed by a health benefit plan for lowering the plan's prescription drug spending over a given period of time and for the direct services the PBM provides to the plan; Sets the amount that a PBM shall reimburse an unaffiliated pharmacy or a PBM-affiliated retail, mail order, or specialty pharmacy for a prescription drug; and Requires a contract between a PBM and a health benefit plan to contain a provision where the PBM discloses prescription drug cost information to the health benefit plan and a provision authorizing the health benefit plan to execute an audit to validate compliance with the contract.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For ground ambulance services (ambulance services), the act: Allows a political subdivision or an ambulance service providing ambulance services on behalf of the political subdivision to submit to the division of insurance (division) the established rates for the ambulance services, if the rates meet specified conditions; Requires the division to publish reimbursement rates on the division's public-facing website; Establishes reimbursement rates for ambulance services that are out of network; and Prohibits an out-of-network ambulance service from billing an individual covered under a health insurance coverage plan (covered person) any outstanding balance for a covered service not paid for by an insurance carrier, except for any coinsurance, deductible, or copayment amount required to be paid by the covered person. If a covered person makes a payment for an out-of-network ambulance service, the payment must be applied to the covered person's in-network deductibles and in-network out-of-pocket maximum amounts. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $38,149 is appropriated from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division to implement the act. VETOED by Governor 5/29/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows enrolled members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and enrolled members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to enter state parks without having to pay an entrance fee. By June 1, 2026, the division of parks and wildlife (division) in the department of natural resources (department) shall build on existing efforts to conduct outreach to and engagement with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, other tribal governments, American Indian communities, and Indigenous communities about opportunities related to state parks that are managed by the division. In January 2026 and January 2027, the department shall include, as part of its presentation during its "SMART Act" hearing, information concerning the division's outreach and engagement about opportunities related to state parks. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)