Bill Tracker

This bill defines a ‘person’ as any unborn child at any stage of gestation from fertilization to death, as it relates to a homicide or assault, as well as to private rights of action.

This bill also declares that any state law in conflict with this bill is superseded by it, and authorizes the state to disregard any federal court decisions that would enjoin or void this requirement and subjects any Colorado judge to impeachment or removal if the judge enjoins, overrules, or voids this requirement.

This bill would create the Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act requiring physicians and other healthcare providers to provide state-prepared information concerning reversing the effects of taking the first of 2 abortion medications.

• This information must be given 24 hours prior to prescribing or administering any abortion-inducing medication.
• This information would be required to be available on a public-facing state dept of public health website,
• This act would also make it a deceptive trade practice to fail to provide this required info regarding abortion pill reversal, which could result in civil penalties and professional discipline against the healthcare provider.
• This act also gives standing to any general assembly member to intervene in any lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of this act.

This bill is based on misinformation and is not supported by legitimate scientific studies regarding the effectiveness of abortion pill reversal.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ position is that these reversal procedures are ‘unproven and unethical’ and “Legislative mandates based on unproven, unethical research are dangerous to women’s health.” https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/medication-abortion-reversal-is-not-supported-by-science

The League supports the constitutional right of privacy of an individual to make all health care and reproductive choices. Public policy must affirm this constitutional right of privacy without undue government restrictions. The League also believes that every US resident should have access to a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost, including contraception services.

This bill would require health care facilities to inform patients as part of their informed consent process, of any services or procedures the facility refuses to provide patients, when the refusal is for nonmedical reasons.

This bill focuses on reproductive health care services by requiring the Department of Public Health to identify any reproductive healthcare services, LGBTQ healthcare services and end-of-life services that are or may be subject to a denial of care in CO, and to develop a simple form to be filled out be any covered facility for the purposes of conveying this information to patients and to the public.

The bill provides definitions for the identified healthcare services and related other terms. It also authorizes the dept of public health to publish and maintain a list of covered entities and the service availability form on its public-facing website and requires the dept. to adopt rules to implement this bill.

The bill appropriates $64,627 from the general fund to the Department of Public Health to implement this bill for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

SB23-188 Protections for Accessing Reproductive Health Care – Strongly Support

The League supports the constitutional right of privacy of an individual to make reproductive choices. Public policy must affirm this constitutional right of privacy without undue government restrictions. The League also believes that every US resident should have access to a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost, including abortion. 

The Colorado LWV’s position is exemplified in the CO Reproductive Health Equity Act, signed into law in 2022, which declares that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state.

This bill addresses the national emergency caused by states banning or severely restricting abortion access and gender-affirming health care by providing protections in Colorado. Colorado has already seen an influx of patients from other states for these protected health care services. The General Assembly finds that our 2022 Reproductive Health Equity Act does not go far enough in the national, legally chaotic environment to protect providers and patients.

This bill would protect providers:

• from medical malpractice insurers taking action against a provider of these services,
• from health insurance carriers and managed care plans that deny payment, terminate or refuse to contract with a provider providing these services,
• from refusing to credential a provider or renewing their contract,
• from being denied licensure, certification, or registration in a health care profession.

This bill would establish that criminal prosecutions for receiving, providing, or assisting legally protected health care - including abortion and gender-affirming care - will not be recognized by the state of Colorado.

It also prevents Colorado from recognizing or enforcing civil lawsuits concerning protected health care services that are penal in nature or without jurisdiction and prevents Colorado state employees from participating in or assisting with interstate investigations or divulging information concerning protected health care.

This bill also adds reproductive health care services workers to the list of protected persons whose personal information may be withheld from exposure on the internet.

Status: Introduced in the Senate on March 9th and assigned to the Judiciary committee. It is being heard in committee on March 15, 2023.

Sponsors: Sen. Julie Gonzales, Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, Rep. Meg Froelich, Rep. Brianna Titone

SB23-189 Increasing Access to Reproductive Health Care – Strongly Support

The League supports the constitutional right of privacy of an individual to make reproductive choices. Public policy must affirm this constitutional right of privacy without undue government restrictions. The League also believes that every US resident should have access to a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost, including abortion. 

This bill will make reproductive health care more accessible and affordable. It limits surprise medical billing and removes patient cost sharing for reproductive health care services and treatment, including but not limited to sterilization, sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV medications, and abortion care. 

Starting January 1, 2025, large employer plans will be required to cover sexually transmitted infection care including HIV prevention drugs and services, as well as abortion care without deductibles, co-insurance or co-payments. Small or individual plans must provide this same coverage if the federal dept. of health and human services confirms the state’s determination that the coverage is not subject to state defrayal (the state is required to pay for the cost to cover any benefit beyond essential health benefits). The legislation adds an exemption for employers with sincerely held religious beliefs.

SB23-189 makes it possible for patients to utilize Medicaid’s non-emergent medical transportation service to get to and from their abortion services, further breaking down accessibility barriers faced by many Colorado Medicaid patients. 

This bill also protects the rights of minors to access contraceptive procedures without their parent or legal guardian being notified.

In order to protect patients’ privacy and confidentiality on shared insurance coverage, this bill further creates a state fund that providers can bill directly for their patient’s reproductive health care services.

Status: Introduced in the Senate on March 9th and assigned to Health and Human Services committee. It is being heard in committee on March 15, 2023.

Sponsors: Sen. Dominick Moreno, Sen. Lisa Cutter, Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Rep. Lorena Garcia

SB23-190 Deceptive Trade Practice Pregnancy-related Service – Strongly Support

The League supports the constitutional right of privacy of an individual to make reproductive choices. Public policy must affirm this constitutional right of privacy without undue government restrictions. The League also believes that every US resident should have access to a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost, including abortion. 

This bill targets the advertising practices of anti-abortion centers, sometimes referred to by proponents as “crisis pregnancy centers”. These facilities, often called ‘fake clinics’ by opponents, often exist to steer pregnant people away from abortion care by promising free prenatal care and other resources.

This bill makes it a deceptive practice for clinics to use deceptive advertising tactics to target clients and persuade them to continue their pregnancy regardless of the fact that they were seeking abortion care.

The bill also states that if a health care provider facilitates a so-called “medication abortion reversal,” which involves an influx of progesterone after the first pill of a medical abortion is taken, they would be subject to discipline for unprofessional conduct. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that the abortion reversal method is not based in science.

Status: Status: Introduced in the Senate on March 9th and assigned to the Senate Judiciary committee. It is being heard in committee on March 15, 2023.

Sponsors: Sen. Faith Winter, Sen. Janice Marchman, Rep. Karen McCormick, Rep. Elisabeth Epps

The League supports the constitutional right of privacy of an individual to make reproductive choices. Public policy must affirm this constitutional right of privacy without undue government restrictions. The League also believes that every US resident should have access to a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost, including contraception. 

The bill requires a carrier that offers a health benefit plan or a pharmacy benefit management firm that administers or manages contraception coverage under a health benefit plan to provide coverage for, and reimburse a prescribing provider or in-network dispensing entity for, the single dispensing or furnishing of an amount of contraception intended to last for 12 months' duration, as permitted by the covered person's prescription.

A carrier offering a health benefit plan or a pharmacy benefit management firm acting on behalf of a carrier is subject to certain requirements, as applicable, including:

• Allowing coverage of continuous use of contraception, as determined by the prescribing provider;
  
  
• Prohibiting utilization management practices that prevent the dispensing of a 12-months' duration of contraception;
  
  
• Allowing for alternate prescribed contraception, if medically necessary; and
  
  
• Providing coverage for over-the-counter contraception without a prescription and without prior authorization, step therapy, utilization management, or cost sharing.
  
  

The bill also requires carriers to report annually to the division of insurance in the department of regulatory agencies concerning contraception coverage and authorizes the commissioner of insurance to promulgate rules regarding the coverage.

Status: On April 19, 2023, the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services referred the unamended bill to the Senate Committee of the Whole.

LWVCO supports this bill.