To support financially vulnerable health care providers who serve low-income and uninsured patients by creating a new funding mechanism within Colorado’s health care system.
Key Provisions
Creation of Fund
Establishes the Provider Stabilization Fund within the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise.
Purpose: To provide stabilization payments to safety net providers that offer free or sliding-scale services to low-income, uninsured individuals.
Payment Distribution
Payments are based on need: Each eligible provider receives funds proportional to the number of low-income, uninsured individuals they serve compared to the total served by all eligible providers.
Funding Sources: The Unclaimed Property Trust Fund will contribute:
$25 million in FY 2025–26
$20 million in FY 2026–27
$15 million annually beginning FY 2027–28. Additional funding may come from:
General Assembly appropriations
Transfers or credits
Gifts, grants, or donations
Federal Matching. The enterprise is directed to leverage the state money to draw down federal matching funds, increasing the total available for provider payments.
Oversight and Reporting
A Provider Stabilization Fund Enterprise Support Board will assist in administering the fund.
The enterprise's governing board must submit an annual report to legislative committees, the governor, and the medical services board.
Overall Effect
Strengthens the safety net system by stabilizing providers that care for underserved populations.
Increases funding capacity through federal matching.
Enhances oversight and accountability through structured governance and reporting.
Summary
The bill creates the provider stabilization fund within the Colorado
healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise (enterprise) to distribute provider stabilization payments to safety net providers who provide services to low-income, uninsured individuals on a sliding-fee schedule or at no cost. Provider stabilization payments will be distributed to eligible safety net providers based on the proportion of low-income, uninsured individuals that an individual provider serves in comparison to the total number of low-income, uninsured individuals served by all eligible safety net providers.
The bill directs the state treasurer to credit interest earnings on the
principal in the unclaimed property trust fund to the provider stabilization fund as follows:
•
$25 million for the 2025-26 state fiscal year;
•
$20 million for the 2026-27 state fiscal year; and
•
$15 million for the 2027-28 and subsequent state fiscal years.
The provider stabilization fund also consists of any money the
general assembly appropriates, transfers, or credits to the fund and any gifts, grants, or donations the enterprise may receive for the fund. The bill directs the enterprise to leverage money in the provider stabilization fund to obtain federal matching money.
The bill establishes a provider stabilization fund enterprise support
board to assist the enterprise in implementing and administering the provider stabilization fund. The enterprise's governing board is required to submit an annual report on the provider stabilization fund to specified committees, the governor, and the medical services board in the department of health care policy and financing.
