Ritter signs 11 'building blocks' of health agenda
New laws cover more uninsured kids, those with special needs
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 4, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky
Caeleb Renner, 3, right, stands next to Gov. Bill Ritter as he signs House Bill 1372 into law at Children's Hospital in Aurora on Tuesday. The bill creates a collection system for umbilical cord blood. Caeleb's mom, who is eight months pregnant, plans to be a donor.
Gov. Bill Ritter hammered the first "building blocks" of his health care reform plan into place Tuesday, signing 11 bills into law, including an extension of benefits to thousands more uninsured children.
"We passed 100 percent of what we set out to do," Ritter told an approving crowd of about 100 health professionals and legislators at Children's Hospital in Aurora.
Applause and whoops erupted over the signing of a law that makes 50,000 more uninsured children eligible for federal Medicaid benefits and for the state plan, Colorado Child Health Care Plan Plus, known as CHP+.
The law expands the eligibility rules to include kids in families with incomes that are 225 percent above the federal poverty level. The old cutoff was incomes at 205 percent above the poverty line. The law also provides for more mental health benefits for children.
Companion legislation simplifies the application process to get on Medicaid and CHP+.
Among the other new laws:
* Insurance companies will be required to cover hearing aids for children from birth to age 18.
* Colorado will create a collection system for umbilical cord blood, the first of its kind in the nation. The Adult Stem Cell Cure Fund will be financed by gifts, grants, donations and revenue from a voluntary income tax checkoff.
* Children with special needs or birth defects will have access to expanded services through the state health department. The law will increase health department staff to handle the growing databases and screening of at-risk children.
* People with health insurance will be issued electronic cards by their providers containing all their current insurance information.
Some new laws
Gov. Bill Ritter signed 16 bills on Tuesday and vetoed one. Here's a look at some of them:
* Create a consumer shopping guide for health insurance on the Colorado Division of Insurance Web site and make insurance brokers' commission fees more visible.
* Establish minimum requirements for health care and insurance entities to use if they develop a designation or rating for physicians.
* Direct the state health department to develop a comprehensive statewide public health improvement plan.
* Direct two state agencies to develop Centennial Care Choices plan that could provide basic health coverage for many residents.
* Require most health insurance plans to cover colorectal cancer screening tests.
* Increase fines for dangerous traffic violations including inattentive driving, speeding, DUI, lane violations and following too closely.
VETOED * A bill requiring taxpayers to disclose new information if they seek a tax break from some real estate investment trust transactions.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
June 4, 2008
6:50 a.m.
Suggest removal
peachy0301 writes:
As well as finding out what new bills have been signed into law, can we see the estimated cost of those bills?? Some of these sound very expensive!!!!!
June 4, 2008
8:32 a.m.
Suggest removal
HOOK writes:
My wallet was pretty slim already, now it may go empty!
June 4, 2008
9:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
hmmm writes:
Peachy,
you can find costs either in the bill itself (under the appropriation clause) or, for more detailed information look at the final fiscal note for the bill. You can find all the bills, including text, status, & fiscal notes at: http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLIC...
June 4, 2008
11:58 a.m.
Suggest removal
LingLingfor_prez writes:
Government run health care will be rationed. If this is fine with any of you, then ok. I would much rather have private companies have an incentive to offer low cost insurance instead of throwing the bill to taxpayers. There must be a better solution.
June 4, 2008
1 p.m.
Suggest removal
LoFat writes:
As an employer, at one point I was required to include pre-natal, post-natal, and childrens dental and optical coverage in the insurance I was required by law to make avaliable to my unmarried male employees. When I asked why the State simply told me that the young men might do something as foolish as fathering children out of wedlock. This way their illegitimate offspring would have medical insurance, AT MY EXPENSE!! Socialism does not work!!!
June 4, 2008
6:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
Vector049 writes:
Screw the poor dears. How about first repairing Denver's streets and filling the potholes.
June 4, 2008
7:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
Shadow writes:
Once again we see more socialised health care creeping in. It is not the health industry that has problems but the INSURANCE COMPANIES who need to be looked into and investigated for price fixing and patient gouging.
But the tax and spend liberals refuse to do the real work and expect everybody to dig deeper into their bank accounts to provide for those unwillng to balance their own expenses and pay their own way.
June 4, 2008
7:48 p.m.
Suggest removal
BrianSchwartz writes:
See the following links for why the health care bills Ritter signed (or is likely to sign) are immoral and impractical:
http://www.patientpowernow.org/tag/sb...
http://www.patientpowernow.org/tag/sb...
http://www.patientpowernow.org/tag/hb...