Colorado Legislative Council Staff
STATE
REVISED FISCAL IMPACT
(replaces fiscal impact dated January 23, 1999)
Drafting Number: Prime Sponsor(s): |
LLS 99-0272 Rep. Witwer
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Date: Bill Status: Fiscal Analyst: |
February 18, 1999 House Appropriations Will Meyer (303-866-4976) |
TITLE: CONCERNING CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL INFORMATION.
Fiscal Impact Summary |
FY 1999/2000 |
FY 2000/2001 |
State Revenues General Fund |
|
|
State Expenditures General Fund |
$61,941 |
$21,494 |
FTE Position Change |
0.0 FTE |
0.0 FTE |
Other State Impact: TABOR |
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Effective Date: July 1, 1999 |
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Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: Department of Corrections: General Fund - $61,941 |
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Local Government Impact: None |
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Summary of Legislation
This bill, as amended in the House Health, Environment, Welfare and Institutions Committee, makes changes to the statutes that regulate the theft of medical records or information. The bill requires any person who knowingly obtains prescription drug dispensing information to keep such information confidential and prohibits any such person from using the information or disclosing the information to third parties, except for purposes directly connected with dispensing the prescription drug or processing the patient's claim for benefits under a managed care plan. The bill provides that any person who fails to comply with the bill's provisions commits a theft of a medical record or medical information.
State Expenditures
Theft of medical records is a class 6 felony. Based on statistics provided by the Department of Corrections, it is anticipated that additional convictions and admissions to prison under the expanded offense would increase only slightly as these newly defined violations are primarily against health care providers and insurance carriers. It assumed that under the provisions of this bill, one offender every five years will be convicted of a class 6 felony of medical records. The estimated length of stay for persons convicted of such crime is 10.7 months.
Five-Year Fiscal Impact on Correctional Facilities
Pursuant to Section 2-2-703, C.R.S., which requires that bills which would result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment not be passed without five years of appropriations for prison bed construction and operating costs, the following analysis is provided. Construction costs are estimated to be $69,467 per bed and operating costs $24,105 per bed. It should be noted that the construction costs reflect the funding needed to construct the beds in the fiscal year prior to when the additional offenders would enter the system.
FIVE-YEAR FISCAL IMPACT ON CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES |
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Fiscal Year |
ADA Impact |
Construction Cost |
Operating Cost |
Total Cost |
FY 1999-2000 |
|
$61,941 |
|
$61,941 |
FY 2000-2001 |
|
|
21,494 |
21,494 |
FY 2001-2002 |
|
|
|
|
FY 2002-2003 |
|
|
|
|
FY 2003-2004 |
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
$61,941 |
$21,494 |
$83,435 |
State Appropriations
This fiscal note implies that the Department of Corrections should be appropriated $61,941 out of the General Fund in FY 1999-00. In addition, the Department of Corrections would require the outstanding five-year appropriation as required by Section 2-2-703, C.R.S.
Departments Contacted
DOC Public Health and Environment Regulatory Agencies Judicial Branch
Health Care Policy and Financing