Catastrophic for Our Care
Say NO to HB1215
HB23-1215 would prohibit hospital-owned outpatient clinics from collecting “facility fees.” The problem? Those fees pay for everyone involved in your care other than your doctor – nurses, nurse assistants, security officers, housekeeping staff, pharmacists, social workers and others in addition to the clinic itself.
This bill is catastrophic for our care in that it:
Forces hundreds of outpatient clinics out of business
Slashes care for Medicaid/Medicare recipients, seniors, kids, at-risk communities
Severely limits access to care and increases costs for everyone
Cuts tens of thousands of nursing, health care jobs
What’s Wrong with HB23-1215?
Catastrophic for the health care industry
- Slashes $9 billion a year from budgets of hospital-owned outpatient clinics across Colorado
- Forces nearly 200 outpatient clinics to close or slash services — pushing patients from integrated, preventative care to costlier in-patient and emergency room treatments
- Drives up health care costs, and the cost of insurance, for all of us
- Promises job losses for tens of thousands of nurses, technicians, and other staffers — many of whom are already grappling with high housing costs and high cost-of-living
- Threatens financial viability of 96% of hospitals in the state — particularly those in rural areas or that serve at-risk populations
- Reduces health care access across Colorado — particularly for low-income residents, underserved populations, seniors, and rural communities
Increases wait times for care significantly - Closes outpatient clinics that provide cancer, mental health, and pediatric care, among others, as well as preventative care
- Forces more people to seek inpatient care and emergency treatments, driving up health care costs for everyone
- Drastically cuts care options for seniors and those with Medicare/Medicaid coverage, who make up sizeable patient populations at outpatient clinics
- Reduces access to mental and behavioral health care, which would mean increased substance use disorders, and likely increased homelessness
- Threatens the expansion of Medicaid that has provided health coverage to nearly 670,000 Coloradans under the Affordable Care Act
