Sen. Rhonda Fields

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill prohibits the department of health care policy and financing from imposing prior authorization, step therapy, and fail first requirements for medicaid coverage of a prescription drug, as indicated on federally approved labels, to treat serious mental health disorders.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The law enforcement, public safety, and criminal justice information sharing grant program provides grants to assist local law enforcement agencies in gaining access to the information sharing system created in the Colorado information sharing consortium (CISC). Grant recipients can use the money to pay for computer hardware, software, and programming costs necessary to connect to the CISC's information sharing systems. There is money remaining in the law enforcement, public safety, and criminal justice information sharing grant program fund (fund), and multiple law enforcement agencies need additional time to join the CISC because their budget timelines differ from the state budget timeline. The act extends the deadline for using money in the fund from June 30, 2022, to June 30, 2023, to allow those law enforcement agencies enough time to join the CISC and use the fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

No later than June 30, 2023, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department), in conjunction with the department of public health and environment, to develop a regulatory plan to establish formal oversight requirements for the program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE). No later than March 1, 2024, the act requires the state department to establish, administer, and enforce minimum regulatory standards and rules for the PACE program. The act requires the state department to continually analyze the reimbursement methodology for PACE entities and provide an update to specified committees of the general assembly of any methodology requirements that incorporate encounter data and any associated costs to the state department in overseeing PACE entities. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a board of county commissioners (board) to adopt a local resolution or ordinance to establish business licensure requirements to regulate massage facilities for the sole purpose of deterring illicit massage businesses and preventing human trafficking. If a board adopts a resolution or ordinance to establish business licensure requirements, the board may only include the business licensure requirements outlined in the act. The act allows the board to charge an administrative licensure fee for a massage facility. The act allows a board to adopt a resolution or ordinance to regulate and prohibit activities to prevent the operation of illicit massage businesses that engage in human trafficking-related offenses. If a municipality adopts a resolution or ordinance to license a massage facility or prohibit activities to prevent the operation of illicit massage businesses that engage in human trafficking-related offenses, the act requires municipal police departments to conduct background checks on the applicant's or licensee's criminal history and provide the municipality information to determine whether the applicant or licensee is approved or denied for a license based on the criminal history record information. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the office of health equity (office) in the department of public health and environment to: On or before January 1, 2023, create a culturally relevant and affirming health-care training grant program (program) to provide money to nonprofit entities and statewide associations of health-care providers to develop new, culturally responsive training programs for priority populations; and Contract with a third-party administrator to administer the program. "Priority populations" is defined as people experiencing homelessness; people involved with the criminal justice system; black people, indigenous people, and people of color; American Indians and Alaska natives; veterans; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning; people of disproportionately affected sexual orientations and gender identities; people who have AIDS or HIV; older adults; children and families; and people with disabilities, including people who are deaf and hard of hearing, people who are blind and deafblind, people with brain injuries, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people with other co-occurring disabilities; and other populations as deemed appropriate by the office of behavioral health. The third-party administrator is required to: Issue a grant application for nonprofit entities and statewide associations of health-care providers who wish to participate in the program to develop culturally relevant and affirming health-care training for health-care professionals; and Submit the list of the qualified applicants for the program to the health equity commission in the office for approval. Each regulator in the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies for the applicable health-care professional is required to provide information concerning the training courses available to the licensee, certificate holder, or registrant. The regulator is required to encourage participation in the training courses. $900,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public health and environment for allocation to the office to administer and support the program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires each child care center, each family child care home, and each public school that serves any of grades preschool through fifth grade, on or before May 31, 2023, to test its drinking water sources by having a state-certified laboratory measure the lead content of water drawn from each drinking water source. Subject to available appropriations, each public school that serves students in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade shall satisfy this requirement on or before November 30, 2024. Within 30 days after receiving the results of a test, a child care center, family child care home, or public school that serves any of grades preschool through eighth grade (P-8 school) must make the results, as well as any associated lead remediation plans, publicly available on the child care center's, family child care home's, or P-8 school's website, if applicable, and report the results to the water quality control commission (commission). The commission shall post the results on its public website within 30 days after receiving them. If the results of a test of a drinking water source show that water from the drinking water source contains lead in an amount of 5 parts per billion or more, a child care center, family child care home, or P-8 school must notify all employees and parents and guardians of students, discontinue use of the drinking water source, and take specific measures to address and remediate the drinking water source. The act requires each child care center, family child care home, and P-8 school to create and maintain, for at least 5 years, records of its filter replacement activities, including when a filter is removed and when a new filter is installed, and any remediation efforts, including faucet replacements. The act requires the department of public health and environment (department) to provide training to each child care center, family child care home, and P-8 school regarding water filter maintenance, flushing protocols, testing for lead, reporting processes for sampling reports, and other activities relevant to compliance with the act's new requirements. The act allows a family child care home established before March 31, 2023, to opt out of the duty to comply with the act's requirements so long as the authorized representative of the family child care home provides written notice of such decision to the department on or before March 31, 2023. A family child care home established on or after March 31, 2023, may opt out of the duty to comply so long as the authorized representative provides written notice of such decision to the department within 6 months after the date upon which the family child care home is established. A child care center or P-8 school is not required to satisfy the act's requirements if the child care center or P-8 school is classified as a public water system under the "Lead and Copper Rule" of the federal environmental protection agency and the child care center or P-8 school is in compliance with the requirements of the federal rule. However, the child care center or P-8 school is required to report annually to the commission the results of the testing of the center or P-8 school's drinking water sources pursuant to the federal rule. The act creates the school and child care clean drinking water fund (fund) in the department and requires the department to expend money from the fund only to: Help child care centers, family child care homes, and P-8 schools comply with the act's requirements; and Reimburse child care centers, family child care homes, and P-8 schools as needed for costs associated with complying with the act's requirements. The act prohibits the department from reimbursing a child care center, family child care home, or P-8 school for such costs if the child care center, family child care home, or P-8 school has already received reimbursement money from the fund and: None of the results of the required testing showed the presence of lead in an amount of at least 5 parts per billion; or If the results of such testing showed the presence of lead in an amount of at least 5 parts per billion, the child care center, family child care home, or P-8 school has also received reimbursement for any associated remediation efforts and a confirmation test of each drinking water source. The act requires the commission, on or before December 1, 2023, and on or before each December 1 thereafter, to submit a report concerning the act's requirements to legislative committees of reference. The act also requires the department, on or before February 28, 2024, to report to the legislative committees of reference: The remaining balance in the fund as of the date of the report; and The department's determination as to whether the money remaining in the fund is sufficient to require public schools that serve any of grades 6 through 8 to comply with the requirements of the act. The act's requirements are repealed, effective June 30, 2026. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,648,019 from the general fund to the department to be used as follows: $673,286 for use by the drinking water program for personal services; $1,469,235 for use by the drinking water program for operating expenses; and $505,498 for the purchase of information technology services, which amount is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $21,000,000 from the general fund to the fund, which money is reappropriated to the department to pay operating expenses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following changes to health insurance coverage for low-income pregnant people and children in low-income families: Provides full health insurance coverage for Colorado pregnant people who would be eligible for medicaid and the children's basic health plan (CHIP) if not for their immigration status and continues that coverage for 12 months postpartum at the CHIP federal matching rate; Provides comprehensive health insurance coverage for all Colorado children who would be eligible for medicaid and CHIP if not for their immigration status; Requires the state department of health care policy and financing (department) to create an outreach and enrollment strategy for enrolling eligible groups into new coverage options; Requires the department to report to the joint budget committee in its 2024 presentation, as well as in its "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" reports, beginning in January 2026, information concerning the state-funded health and medical care program, the state children's basic health plan, and its plans and progress in implementing the coverage expansion for lawfully residing persons; Allows the state controller to allow the department to make an expenditure in excess of the amount authorized if the amount is for the state medical assistance program or the state children's basic health plan; Provides comprehensive lactation support services, lactation supplies and equipment, and maintenance of multi-use loaned equipment. Removes the annual enrollment fee for a family whose income is at or below one hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty line or an enrollee who is a pregnant person. Draws down federal funds to improve perinatal and postpartum support and requires that priorities for the funds be determined through a stakeholder process; Creates a special enrollment period for health insurance coverage due to pregnancy so that an eligible person can sign up for insurance as soon as the person becomes pregnant; and Improves the quality of health insurance coverage available through the health insurance affordability enterprise. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the following appropriations are made for the purpose of implementing this act: $730,573 is appropriated to the department of health care policy and financing from the general fund; $423,626 is appropriated to the department of public health and environment from the general fund for use by the center for health and environmental information; The 2022 long bill cash funds appropriation from the children's basic health plan trust for children's basic health plan medical and dental costs was decreased by $340,727; The 2022 long bill cash funds appropriation from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund for children's basic health plan medical and dental costs was decreased by $564,678; The 2022 long bill appropriation to the department of health care policy and financing from the general fund for children's basic health plan medical and dental costs was increased by $144,229; and The 2022 long bill was adjusted as a result of an assumption by the general assembly that the department of health care policy and financing will receive $761,176 in federal funds for children's basic health plan medical and dental costs to implement this act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act supports various aspects of early childhood and child care by extending current grant programs and developing new programs by making the following appropriations: $50 million from federal funds from child care development funds for the purposes of implementing the child care sustainability grant program; $16 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund for the emerging and expanding child care grant program. $10 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to implement the employer-based child care facility grant program; $15 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to implement the early care and education recruitment and retention grant and scholarship program. Of the $15 million, $5 million must be dedicated for home visiting workforce, early childhood mental health consultants, and early intervention providers. $7.5 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to implement the family, friend, and neighbor training and support programs; and One million dollars from the economic recovery and relief cash fund for the purposes of implementing the home visiting grant program. The act creates the family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) support programs, which include an advisory group and a training and support program. The family, friend, and neighbor advisory group is created to advise the department on the needs of FFN providers and to make recommendations on changes to regulations, policies, funding, and procedures that would benefit the FFN community. The family, friend, and neighbor support program is created to allow community-based organizations and nonprofit organizations that have expertise working with FFN providers to provide them with information, training, materials, and technical assistance to support best practices. Subject to available appropriations, the department of early childhood shall make existing state programs available to the FFN community, including, but not limited to, home visitation, early intervention, early childhood mental health, workforce recruitment and retention, and family resource center services. The act creates the home visiting grant program, in which "home visiting" means a voluntary, evidence-based, 2-generation, and home-based prevention program for families with children from prenatal to 6 years of age. The purpose of the home visiting grant program is to support school readiness, social-emotional growth, and age-appropriate child development delivered by a trained home visitor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

No later than July 1, 2023, the act requires each administrative unit to adopt a policy that addresses how a student who has a prescription from a qualified health-care provider for medically necessary treatment receives such treatment in the school setting as required by applicable federal and state laws. The act requires the administrative unit to make the policy publicly available on the administrative unit's website and available to the student's parent or legal guardian upon request. Beginning July 1, 2024, and each July thereafter, the act requires each administrative unit to compile and provide to the department of education (department) the total number of requests for access to a student by a private health-care specialist and whether the access was authorized or denied. Beginning January 2025, and each January thereafter, the act requires the department to make the information reported available on the department's website and report the information to specified committees of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)