By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics
A bill that won a party-line vote in the House Health & Human Services Committee aims to cap the price insurers pay urban hospitals for health services for state employees and those insured in the small group market.
As introduced, House Bill 1174 would set reimbursement rates that health insurance carriers pay to mostly urban hospitals for covered services. There are about 200,000 insureds in the small group market and 60,000 state employees, which is about 6% of the total health insurance market.
The bill won a party-line 8-4 vote from the committee over the objections of businesses and healthcare providers statewide, from the largest urban facilities to some of the state’s smallest rural healthcare providers. The bill also raised concerns that it intends to shore up one part of the state’s safety net at the expense of other parts of the safety net.