Colorado Medicaid Chief Resigns Amid Bipartisan Outcry Over Costs And Mismanagement

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette

Colorado’s top Medicaid official stepped down on Monday, just as a bipartisan bloc of state senators prepared to formally urge Gov. Jared Polis to remove her over what they called years of mismanagement, waste and costly errors inside the state’s largest agency.

One legislator seeking the resignation of Kim Bimestefer, executive direct or of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, called the leadership change a “necessary step toward accountability.”

Bimestefer had been under fire from critics, who questioned how health officials have remained in their roles amid what they described as mismanagement at the state Medicaid program, which is beset by allegations of fraud, abuse and runaway spending.

The program’s costs have exploded in the last several years, overtaking K-12 education as the largest line item in the state budget. Jointly funded by the state and federal government, Medicaid provides health coverage to low-income residents, including children, pregnant women, older individuals and people with disabilities. The program is overseen by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

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