Our Work
In a legislature divided, under the stormy skies of presidential politics, it’s no wonder that barely half of introduced bills survived this year. While there were certainly successes, health proposals didn’t fare any better against an array of predators.
The dynamics of split party control shaped the 2016 legislative session, just as they did last year. But this time around, the presidential election added even more pressure.
An Analysis of Enrollment, Costs and Benefits – and How They Exceeded Expectations
As the legislative session raced to a close, the tense final votes were like a down-to-the-wire basketball championship: a lot of drama building to an unsurprising ending.
It’d be nice to have a time-turner right about now. Legislators are working overtime to get through still undecided bills, and of all the magical things from Harry Potter’s universe, a pendant to increase the number of work hours in a day might sound the most appealing.
This week’s big news: The proposal to change the Hospital Provider Fee to an enterprise fund has passed the House. But its future depends on which Senate committee gets to hear it first. That will be determined by Senate President Bill Cadman (R), who has opposed converting the fee.
Thirteen weekdays (and three more CHI blogs) remain in this legislative session. Nearly 650 bills have been introduced, and at last count, fewer than 100 have crossed the finish line and received a signature from Governor Hickenlooper.
We love the legislature, and we’re passionate about tracking health bills — but even we can admit that our weekly legislative blogs have become a bit verbose. Extended. Detailed.
They’re long.
We spent the past two weeks tracking the budget, House Bill 1405, which passed the Senate on Thursday on a 30-5 vote. But a lot more has been going on at the Capitol.
Thursday 1:30 p.m.: Public health advocates are breathing easier this afternoon, now that the Senate has wrapped up its debate on amendments to the Long Bill.
This post concludes our rolling budget blog. We will post budget updates next week in our regular legislative blog. Thanks for following along.