Tracking what's destroying Colorado
A curated collection of bills, news, and resources about Colorado politics and policy
A curated collection of bills, news, and resources about Colorado politics and policy
Colorado healthcare policy, insurance regulations, and public health updates.
14 articles tagged with "Healthcare"
In 2026, Colorado's bloated state welfare programs face deserved federal crackdowns after shocking revelations of fraud and inefficiency. From HUD paying housing benefits to 221 deceased individuals and thousands of ineligible recipients, to a $40 million Medicaid scam targeting seniors with unnecessary tests, SNAP funding battles amid administrative failures, and hospitals drowning in uncompensated care partly from surges in uninsured migrants — these scandals highlight years of lax oversight draining taxpayer dollars and rewarding abuse.
Children's Hospital Colorado and Denver Health have suspended all medical gender-affirming care for patients under 18, including prescriptions for puberty blockers and hormone therapy, though neither performed surgeries on minors. This decision follows a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) referral for an investigation into Children's Hospital Colorado, which threatens the hospital's Medicare and Medicaid funding—critical for serving hundreds of thousands of children. The hospitals described the move as a response to escalating HHS actions under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who declared such procedures unsafe and ineffective, amid a broader Trump administration push to restrict transgender youth care nationwide. Background includes a July DOJ subpoena for records, which the hospital is fighting in court. While supportive services continue, the suspensions disrupt patient-provider relationships and access to these treatments, placing Colorado at the center of national legal battles over transgender minor care.
A Colorado conservative account highlights a staggering 306% surge in Medicaid spending on pediatric behavioral therapies from 2018-2024, linking it to potential overbilling and fraud driven by private equity-backed providers. Drawing parallels to Minnesota's exploding autism and child services fraud scandals—where billions in taxpayer dollars have been stolen through fake claims and non-existent services—the post warns that Colorado risks the same fate without urgent oversight and reforms.
The Denver Post article, published on May 15, 2025, reports that House Republicans have proposed a bill cutting federal Medicaid spending by at least $880 billion over the next decade to help extend President Trump's tax cuts. For Colorado, this could mean billions in lost funding, potentially leading to a state budget shortfall and up to 108,000 residents losing coverage, mainly due to new work requirements and reduced federal matching funds. Critics, including Democrats like Rep. Diana DeGette and Gov. Jared Polis, argue the cuts prioritize tax breaks for the wealthy over health care access, risking higher costs and uncompensated care for providers. Republicans, such as Rep. Gabe Evans, counter that the plan targets fraud and waste while ensuring Medicaid's sustainability for vulnerable populations, with spending still projected to rise annually. The bill has advanced through committee but faces uncertain passage in Congress, and Colorado officials are preparing potential responses, including a special legislative session.
In a major win for underserved communities, the Trump Administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), led by Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, is rolling out the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program—the largest-ever federal investment in rural health care. Colorado applied in early November 2025, with awards expected by year's end, promising to bolster 43 rural hospitals that employ 16,000+ and drive $6.6 billion in economic impact. Amid a mid-October Senate push to gut the program, state leaders rallied to secure this funding, aiming to combat chronic diseases, uninsured rates, and facility closures in remote areas like the Western Slope and eastern plains.
In Colorado, federal cuts under the Republican-led "Big Beautiful Bill" (H.R. 1), signed into law earlier in 2025, have slashed health care tax credits, forcing the state's OmniSalud program—launched a few years ago to provide free insurance to low-income undocumented immigrants—to halve its enrollment via a random lottery for 2026. Out of 12,000 eligible applicants (mostly long-term residents from Mexico working in low-wage jobs like construction and farming), only about 6,000 will keep zero-premium coverage, leaving over 5,000 to pay full price starting January. The program, funded by state resources and a Medicaid waiver, has helped detect serious conditions like cancer for some, but demand exploded after prior expansions (10,000 in 2023, 11,000 in 2024). Nonprofits like Vuela for Health report emotional tolls, with winners like a 63-year-old cancer survivor expressing relief and losers, including a 52-year-old single mother, facing financial ruin amid economic uncertainty. Federal officials, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and House Speaker Mike Johnson, hail the changes as prioritizing American taxpayers over incentives for illegal immigration.
Drawing a chilling parallel to Minnesota's explosive welfare fraud epidemic—where Somali immigrants siphoned billions from programs like Housing Stabilization Services and child nutrition, funneling millions back to Al-Shabaab terrorists via hawala networks—Colorado faces its own invasion of fiscal abuse. Under Governor Jared Polis's sanctuary-state policies, Denver has become ground zero for undocumented immigrants exploiting state-funded healthcare like OmniSalud and Cover All Coloradans, with costs exploding over 600% to $32 million in FY2026 alone after absorbing 42,000 border crossers. Federal probes by CMS and House Republicans uncovered 45,000 suspect Medicaid enrollments in Colorado, amid accusations of identity theft, overbilling, and "emergency" care loopholes that bleed taxpayers for non-emergencies. Like Minnesota's "schemes stacked upon schemes," critics warn Colorado's lax oversight invites fraud rings preying on programs meant for citizens, diverting resources from vulnerable Americans while sanctuary laws shield data from ICE—potentially costing the state millions in federal matching funds.
In a critical investigative piece published on November 14, 2025, by the Rocky Mountain Voice, author Cory Gaines uncovers a pattern of Medicaid expansions under Colorado Governor Jared Polis that directly contradicts his recent complaints about the program's skyrocketing costs. Using Colorado's legislative bill search tool, the article identifies over a dozen bills signed by Polis since 2019 that broadened eligibility, added benefits, and reallocated federal funds—such as allowing seniors and the disabled to buy into coverage (2020), funding equine therapy (2022), covering homemaker services with enhanced federal matching (SB23-289 in 2023), and studying reimbursements for social needs like housing and utilities (2024). These actions have helped grow Medicaid to serve 1.2 million Coloradans, fueling budget pressures. Yet, in a recent press conference, Polis blamed "benefits that have been added in recent years" as unsustainable, suggesting cuts to services rather than addressing enrollment. The piece accuses Polis of hypocrisy for passively framing expansions as someone else's doing while personally approving them, urging taxpayers to demand accountability for this self-inflicted fiscal strain.
The Office of Inspector General found Colorado made at least $3.8 million in unallowable Medicaid payments to managed care organizations on behalf of dead enrollees, and incorrectly reported an additional $2.2 million in expenditures to CMS, exposing weaknesses in oversight and fiscal controls within the state’s Medicaid program.
A federal audit alleges Colorado’s Medicaid program made over 220,000 payments for health care to nearly 9,000 people who were dead, resulting in $6 million in overcharges—$3.8 million for payments to deceased enrollees and $2.2 million for other errors—highlighting inadequate controls and data management. State officials dispute the findings and refuse repayment, arguing the audit used unreliable data.
Health First Colorado suspended its contract with non-emergent medical transportation provider MedRide after allegations of missing member signatures, dates, and times on claims—mirroring previous findings of false or fraudulent claims in the sector and reflecting ongoing concerns about Medicaid fraud and waste.
The video is a segment from "The Will Cain Show" on Fox News, focusing on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. Host Will Cain critiques the promises made by President Barack Obama in 2009 regarding healthcare reform, contrasting them with the actual outcomes over the past 15 years. The segment highlights several key points:Initial Promises: Obama promised that individuals could keep their doctors and healthcare plans, and that the ACA would not increase the deficit. Reality Check: Cain points out that immediately after the ACA's implementation in 2013, 2.6 million Americans lost their individual insurance policies due to non-compliance with new regulations. Financial Impact: The video discusses the initial appearance of affordable premiums due to tax credits, but warns that without these subsidies, premiums could rise significantly, making healthcare unsustainable for many. Long-term Effects: Cain questions how the ACA, despite its promises, ended up increasing healthcare costs, contrary to its intended goals. The segment uses graphics and data from sources like the Urban Institute and the Department of Health and Human Services to support its claims, emphasizing the discrepancy between promise and reality.
Signed into law in 2025, HB 25-1309 amends Colorado Revised Statutes § 10-16-104 to mandate that all health insurance plans cover "gender-affirming health care" as a defined essential benefit, explicitly including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, surgeries (mastectomies, phalloplasties, vaginoplasties, etc.), voice therapy, hair removal, and facial feminization/masculinization—regardless of age or medical necessity—while prohibiting insurers from denying, limiting, or adding cost-sharing based on gender identity. The bill defines "gender-affirming health care" broadly to include any service "used in this subsection (30), unless the context otherwise requires," effectively shielding providers and patients from out-of-state subpoenas, lawsuits, or professional discipline tied to such care, even if originating from states with bans. Sponsored by a massive Democratic supermajority and signed amid national debates over youth transitions, it cements Colorado as a "sanctuary state" for transgender medical interventions, with insurers required to comply starting plan years after January 1, 2026.
Colorado taxpayers are footing a $170M bill for free healthcare to illegals while the federal shutdown starves reimbursements—your premiums skyrocket as ERs overflow with non-citizens. Click to see the brutal audit exposing the scam.