2024 Advocacy Booklet

2024 COLORADO LEGISLATIVE SESSION

CMS FIGHTS FOR YOU

1,822 advocacy messages sent to legislators by Colorado physicians and practice staff.

38 positions taken on bills by the CMS Council on Legislation and 62 bills monitored by staff.

14 meetings of the Council on Legislation before and during the session.

CMS highlighted wins for you:

HB24-1472 Raise Damage Limit Tort Actions modernizes Colorado’s medical and general liability laws, maintains liability caps and preserves peer review, while avoiding a costly ballot fight. This bill was introduced and passed in the final week of the session in place of SB24-130.

HB24-1149 Prior Authorization

Requirements Alternatives, a three-year endeavor, results in a law empowering patients and physicians, extending prior auth approvals, increasing approval time frames for chronic medications, prohibiting denials requiring additional care during surgery, and mandating alternative programs for prior auth.

HB24-1058 Protect Privacy of Biological Data is the first-in-the-world legislation that protects the privacy of individuals’ personal biological data.

HB24-1171 Naturopathic Doctors Formulary was indefinitely postponed. CMS will continue to fight for patient safety and against inappropriate scope of practice expansion for naturopaths.

REPRESENTATIVE SHANNON BIRD

D - DISTRICT 29

“Since elected, I have appreciated working with CMS on health care issues that are important to my constituents. This year I was proud to sponsor HB241149 Prior Authorization Requirements Alternatives, which will make a real difference for patients and physicians. I look forward to finding more legislative solutions to improve health care in Colorado.”

MEET OUR CHAMPIONS OF MEDICINE

SENATOR MARK BAISLEY

R - DISTRICT 4

SENATOR BARBARA KIRKMEYER

R - DISTRICT 23

SENATOR JANICE RICH

R - DISTRICT 7

REPRESENTATIVE SHANNON BIRD

D - DISTRICT 29

REPRESENTATIVE ROSE PUGLIESE

R - DISTRICT 14

“I am honored to work with organizations like the Colorado Medical Society to protect access to health care. This year, finding a bipartisan legislative compromise in HB24-1472 modernized non-economic damages caps and avoided costly ballot measures that would be dangerous for patients.”

SENATOR JAMES COLEMAN

D - DISTRICT 33

SENATOR DAFNA MICHAELSON JENET

D - DISTRICT 21

SENATOR DYLAN ROBERTS

D - DISTRICT 8

REPRESENTATIVE LISA FRIZELL

R - DISTRICT 45

REPRESENTATIVE DAVID ORTIZ

D - DISTRICT 38

SENATOR JOANN GINAL

D - DISTRICT 14

SENATOR KYLE MULLICA

D - DISTRICT 24

REPRESENTATIVE KYLE BROWN

D - DISTRICT 12

REPRESENTATIVE CATHY KIPP

D - DISTRICT 52

REPRESENTATIVE LINDSEY DAUGHERTY

D - DISTRICT 24

REPRESENTATIVE ROSE PUGLIESE

R - DISTRICT 14

THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVOCACY IN CMS – FOR PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS

DARLENE TAD-Y, MD, CHAIR

CMS COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION

RAMNIK DHALIWAL, MD, JD, VICE-CHAIR

CMS COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION

Advocacy is giving voice and support to the issues, concerns, and needs of CMS physicians to succeed in the practice of medicine and the care of patients in Colorado. This includes speaking out in defense of our patients by influencing policy that would seek to harm our ability to provide excellent care.

This year, we achieved significant milestones through collaborative efforts with Coloradans Protecting Patient Access (CPPA). The enactment of HB24-1472, which updates non-economic damage caps, is attributable to the effective partnership and hard work between CMS, CPPA and other partner organizations like COPIC and the Colorado Hospital Association. This collaboration successfully countered potentially catastrophic ballot initiatives brought by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association that would have dismantled peer review and eliminated the non-economic damages cap. Consequently, addressing this issue through legislative channels became feasible, serving the interests of physicians and patients alike.

Additionally, the successful passage of HB24-1149 empowers doctors and patients by placing health care decisions in their hands rather than in the control of insurance companies or their algorithms. This legislation aims to reform and streamline prior authorization processes, safeguard patients, and conserve valuable time and resources within the health care system.

JOIN

BECOME A MEMBER

Join CMS and encourage your colleagues to do the same. cms.org/join

CENTRAL LINE

Submit a Central Line proposal. Central line, a cutting-edge approach to governance and member participation, brings member voices directly into the CMS boardroom.

TESTIFY

Volunteer to testify in front of a committee about issues important to you. Reach out to membership@cms. org to share if you are interested

FOLLOW US

PolicyPulse

PolicyPulse

POLICY PULSE NEWSLETTER

During the legislative session, read our Policy Pulse newsletter for updates and to hear about ways to get involved.

DONATE

Donate to COMPAC. COMPAC is the nonpartisan political action committee of the Colorado Medical Society, supporting pro-physician, pro-patient candidates on the state level.

cms.org/contribute scan to contribute

COUNCILS & COMMITTEES

CMS Council on Legislation determines positions on legislation. Reach out to your component or specialty society to get involved. Email membership@cms.org for more information