First Regular Session
              Sixty-fifth General Assembly
                    STATE OF COLORADO
                                                 INTRODUCED
                                                           
                                                           
 LLS NO. 05-0651.01 Kristen Forrestal    HOUSE BILL 05-1245
                    HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Solano,  and Madden
 
                   SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Tochtrop, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 House Committees
 Senate Committees
 
 
 Health and Human Services
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                         A BILL FOR AN ACT
       Concerning the reporting requirements regarding persons
            receiving public health care benefits.
       
       
                           Bill Summary
       
            (Note:  This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
       not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently
       adopted.)
       
            Requires an applicant for health care benefits administered by the
       department of health care policy and financing (state department),
       including, but not limited to, benefits provided pursuant to the "Colorado
       Medical Assistance Act" and the children's basic health plan, and a person
       requesting uncompensated care in a hospital to identify the employer or
       employers of the proposed beneficiary of the health care benefits, or if the
       beneficiary is not employed, the adult responsible for providing the
       beneficiary's support.  Requires the state department to report annually to
       the general assembly regarding employers with 25 or more employees
       who are public health program beneficiaries.  Requires the state
       department to make the report available to any person who requests such
       report.
       
       
       
       Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
            SECTION 1.  Part 2 of article 1 of title 25.5, Colorado Revised
       Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to
       read:
            25.5-1-203.  Programs administered by the department -
       uncompensated care - reporting requirements.  (1)  An applicant for
       health care benefits under programs administered by the state
       department and a person requesting uncompensated care in a
       hospital shall identify the employer or employers of the
       proposed beneficiary of health care benefits.  In the event the
       proposed beneficiary is not employed, the applicant shall
       identify the employer or employers of any adult who is
       responsible for providing all or some of the proposed
       beneficiary's support.
            (2)  On or before February 1 of each year, the state
       department shall transmit a report to the general assembly
       identifying all employers identified pursuant to the application
       requirements in subsection (1) of this section who employ
       twenty-five or more public health program beneficiaries.  In
       determining whether the twenty-five-employee threshold is
       met, the state department shall include all pubic health
       program beneficiaries employed by the employer and its
       subsidiaries at all locations within the state.  The report shall
       include each employer's name, location or locations, the total
       number of employees and dependents who are enrolled in each
       state department administered health care program, and the
       total cost to the state for providing health care benefits for
       the employees and enrolled dependents of each named employer. 
       The report shall not include the names of any individual
       persons receiving benefits and shall be subject to privacy
       standards pursuant to the federal "Health Insurance
       Portability and Accountability Act of 1996", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1320d
       to 1320d-8, as amended.
            (3)  Any member of the public has a right to request a copy
       of the report provided to members of the general assembly
       pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and the state
       department shall make such report available to the person
       making the request.
            (4)  For the purposes of this section, "proposed beneficiary"
       means an individual who files an application for benefits or
       hospital care for himself or herself, or for another individual
       on whose behalf an application is filed, including but not
       limited to children or other dependents of the applicant or
       other individual for whom the application is filed.
            SECTION 2.  Effective date.  This act shall take effect at 12:01
       a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after
       final adjournment of the general assembly that is allowed for submitting
       a referendum petition pursuant to article V, section 1 (3) of the state
       constitution (August 10, 2005, if adjournment sine die is on May 11,
       2005); except that, if a referendum petition is filed against this act or an
       item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,
       section, or part, if approved by the people, shall take effect on the date of
       the official declaration of the vote thereon by proclamation of the
       governor.