Colorado commission examining health-care costs is exceeding budget

DENVER – The Colorado Commission on Affordable Health Care’s preliminary budget exceeds its $400,000 appropriation from the state Legislature by $95,000 for the first two years of its three-year mandated existence.

“The original legislative appropriation will not fund the three years of the commission’s existence, and additional revenue sources will be identified,” said Chris Tholen, a commission member and vice president of financial policy for the Colorado Hospital Association in Greenwood Village.

Established to make policy recommendations to the state Legislature and Gov. John Hickenlooper, the 17-member commission began monthly meetings in August. The group has focused mostly on forming charters, bylaws and other documents along with staffing requirements.

SPONSORED CONTENT

How Platte River Power Authority is accelerating its energy transition

Platte River Power Authority, the community-owned wholesale electricity provider for Northern Colorado, has a history of bold initiatives.

Commission members approved Feb. 9 its $495,000 budget, which for the next two years includes a $227,000 fee for facilitation services from the Keystone-based not-for-profit Keystone Policy Center.

Commission members said they expected the budget to evolve, and perhaps grow, over the next few months. The commission has not formed a budget for its third year.

The commission also plans to pay $168,000 over two years to the Denver-based Colorado Health Institute, which will conduct research on health care costs for the commission. The commission will pay to look at costs of various medical procedures through the Colorado All Payer Claims Database, a comprehensive source of health care claims information.

“There are new levels of data that are available for the first time,” said Tholen, adding that the commission also needs staff members to analyze the data.

By contrast, the Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force, appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper to make policy recommendations on oil and natural-gas extraction regulations, spent $58,000 over its six-month existence. The Keystone Policy Center, which also facilitated oil and gas task force meetings, did not charge the state of Colorado for its services, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Todd Hartman said.

Lorez Meinhold, senior policy director for the Keystone Policy Center, said the organization acquired grant funding to cover its expenses to facilitate the oil and gas task force meetings.

“We are a nonprofit,” she said. “As we put people and time towards efforts, there’s always a cost for us.”

The affordable health care commission’s higher budget means it may have to rely on gifts, donations and grants as allowed by Senate Bill 187. The additional revenue can come from “any source,” according to language in the bill.

“In the statute, it’s recognized that the commission is going to need to find sources of funds beyond that $400,000,” Tholen said.

Additional funding could come from health foundations, businesses or even the Legislature, said commission chairman Bill Lindsay, president of Lockton Benefit Group in Denver.

“We recognized early on that although the general assembly appropriated $400,000, which is a lot of money, that wasn’t going to carry us for three years when we have to do a high-level, technical analysis,” Lindsay said.

The commission also may have additional expenses, such as a web platform it would like to use to broadcast its meetings online, he said.

The 17-member commission, created last year by Senate Bill 187 sponsored by Sens. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Irene Aguilar, D-Denver, has two-and-a-half years left to make its recommendations. It also must complete three annual reports, the first of which is due Nov. 15.

The commission plans to hold public meetings in each of the states’ congressional districts later this summer, where it will listen to residents’ and health care providers concerns’ about health care costs. No dates or locations have been set.