TITLE: CONCERNING THE CREATION OF THE COLORADO HEALTH CARE TASK FORCE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, ABOLISHING THE JOINT REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR THE MEDICALLY INDIGENT AND THE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE REFORM ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.

Fiscal Impact Summary	FY 1999/2000	FY 2000/2001
State Revenues General Fund Cash Fund Exempt	$5,000	$5,000
State Expenditures * General Fund Cash Fund Exempt	$857 $5,000	$857 $5,000
FTE Position Change	0.2 FTE	0.2 FTE
Other State Impact: None
Effective Date: Upon signature of the Governor
Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: The bill contains an appropriation of $5,000 from grants, gifts and donations to the Legislative Department. No additional appropriation would be required.
Local Government Impact: None

* Please note: The expenditure shown represents the full cost of the task force (for reference only). No additional General Fund appropriation would be required. The following grants, gifts and donations have been secured for payment of expenses of the committee:

This bill as amended, creates the Colorado Health Care Task Force, comprised of 10 legislative members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives would appoint 5 members of the House of Representatives -- not more than 3 of whom would be from the same political party. The President of the Senate would appoint 3 members, and the Minority Leader of the Senate would appoint 2 members. The term of office for each member would be for one year and shall commence on July 1, 1999. Members may serve for two consecutive terms. The bill specifies that members of the task force shall not receive compensation (per diem), but would be entitled to reimbursement of necessary expenses -- up to 6 meeting per year.

The task force would make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning matters studied. Any recommendations would be treated as legislation recommended by an interim legislative committee for purposes of any introduction deadlines or bill limitations imposed by the joint rules of the General Assembly. The task force would meet at least 6 times per year and would be repealed effective July 1, 2004. The task force may consider the appointment of subcommittees to assist in advising the task force. In addition, the bill repeals the Joint Review Committee for the Medically Indigent and the Medical Assistance Reform Advisory Committee.

• the effect of recent shifts in the way health care is delivered and paid for;

• the ability of consumers to obtain and keep adequate, affordable health insurance coverage, including coverage for catastrophic illnesses;

• the effect of managed care on the ability of consumers to obtain timely access to quality care;

• the future trends for health care coverage rates for employees and employers;

The bill allows the Legislative Council to accept and expend federal funds, grants, gifts, and donations for the purposes of the bill. Two separate $5,000 grants have been obtained for funding of the task force. The "Rose Community Foundation" has indicated by letter their support of $5,000 for FY 1999-00. The "Lutheran Medical Center Community Foundation (LCM)" has indicated by letter their support of $5,000 for FY 2000-01.

The bill specifies that Legislative Council Staff shall be made available to assist the task force in carrying out its duties. The creation of the Colorado Health Care Task Force and the repeal of the Medically Indigent Committee and the Medical Assistance Reform Advisory Committee would have a net General Fund expenditure impact of $5,857 and 0.2 FTE as shown in Table 1. Currently, the Medically Indigent Committee is budgeted to meet only 2 times per year and receives minimal staff support. The Medical Assistance Reform Advisory Committee did not meet last fiscal year and has not been budgeted to meet in the future. Repeal of these two committees would help offset the cost of the creation of the new task force.

Expenses of the Office of Legislative Legal Services Staff would not change as a result of the creation of the new task force due to offsetting expenses.

ESTIMATED EXPENSES LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL STAFF
	FY 1999-00	FY 2000-01
Sr. Research Assistant 0.2 FTE PERA Medicare	$5,168 594 75	$5,168 594 75
Colorado Hlth. Care Task Force (member expense reimbursement)	3,000	3,000
Repeal Medically Indigent Cmte.	(2,980)	(2,980)
Repeal Medical Assistance Reform Advisory Committee	no budget	no budget
GRAND TOTAL	$5,857 0.2 FTE	$5,857 0.2 FTE

Pursuant to the Joint Budget Committee’s budget policies, the following expenditures have not been included in this fiscal note:

The bill contains an appropriation of $5,000 from grants, gifts and donations to the Legislative Department. No additional appropriation would be required.