Health Care Review Interim Committee Billing Study

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Scott Bright and 4 co-sponsors

The bill would require a 2025 interim study of health-care billing by providers, facilities, and insurers to assess timeliness and suggest fixes, with a final report.

Senate Committee on Appropriations Lay Over Unamended - Amendment(s) Failed

Main purpose

Require the Statewide Health Care Review Committee to study health‑care billing practices during the 2025 interim, determine whether patients receive timely bills, identify causes of delays, and consider legislative fixes to ensure timely billing. The committee must produce and submit a report with findings and recommendations.

Key provisions

Adds subsection (1.5) to Colorado Revised Statutes §10‑16‑221 directing the committee to study billing practices of providers, facilities, and insurers during the 2025 interim.

Study objectives:

Determine whether patients statewide receive timely billing for health‑care services and, if not, why.
Consider potential legislative changes to guarantee timely billing.

Reporting requirement: no later than 90 days after the committee’s final 2025 interim meeting, submit a report to the Governor, the House Health & Human Services Committee, and the Senate Health & Human Services Committee (or successors). The report must include:

A summary of meetings (who attended, presenters, topics),
Committee findings,
Committee recommendations for legislative or other measures.

Temporary: the added statute subsection is repealed effective July 1, 2026.

Effective date: 12:01 a.m. the day after the 90‑day period following final adjournment sine die (subject to referendum).

Meetings

Reengrossed/introduced versions allowed the committee to meet up to four times during the 2025 interim. Earlier/later fiscal analyses considered scenarios of two meetings (current law) vs. up to four. An amendment L.001 removed the extra‑meeting provision and limited meetings to the current two.

Fiscal impact

Initial (introduced) fiscal estimate: ~$4,719 General Fund (FY 2025‑26).

Revised estimates (accounting for SB 25‑199 which suspended interim committees) projected ~$9,607 General Fund and 0.1 FTE for Legislative Council Staff (FY 2025‑26) to support meetings, staff time, travel, and van rental. HCPF and DORA would see minimal absorbable workload.

With amendment L.001 (no extra meetings), Legislative Council staff workload was considered absorbable within existing appropriations and no new appropriation required.

Final fiscal note states the bill was deemed lost in Senate Appropriations (May 8, 2025), so projected impacts would not take effect.

Who is affected

Legislative Branch (Legislative Council Staff) for staffing and meeting support.

State agencies (HCPF, DORA) for providing information/assistance — workload expected to be absorbable.

Health‑care providers, facilities, insurers, and patients: subject of the study; potential future legislative changes could affect billing practices.

Legislative status (key actions)

Introduced in House: Feb 11, 2025.

Passed House (reengrossed): Feb 28, 2025.

Senate HHS referred to Committee of the Whole: Apr 17, 2025.

Senate Second Reading referred to Appropriations: Apr 22, 2025.

Senate Appropriations: Lay Over Unamended — Amendment(s) Failed; bill deemed lost in committee on May 8, 2025.

Sponsors: Reps. Dusty Johnson, Amy Paschal, K. Brown; Sens. Scott Bright (primary), Kyle Mullica.

Bill