Why a Republican state senator kept talking about Colorado hospitals
Plus: Michael Bennet on the Labor Peace Act repeal. State budget amendments in the House. Yadira Caraveo prepares to run again.
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Republican Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer really wants people to know that Colorado’s hospital provider fee was created for hospitals.
“It is for hospitals,” she said on the Senate floor last week.
Across a 15-minute speech, the Brighton lawmaker kept saying it, reading aloud at times from state law to reinforce that the fee-based enterprise program was designed to support hospitals, and hospitals alone.
“It’s all about hospitals.”
“Advising hospitals … business services to hospitals …”
“It’s a hospital provider fee.”
“I’m just going to keep saying it, because that’s what the enterprise is for: hospitals.”
We tallied it up, and she said hospital 49 times in all — that’s 27 more than ex-NBA star Allen Iverson said “practice” during his famous 2002 rant.
Kirkmeyer, who serves on the Joint Budget Committee, was taking aim at a proposal from her Democratic colleagues to expand the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise by moving a provider fee for nursing facilities under its umbrella.
The maneuver would save the state $10 million against the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights spending cap this fiscal year and another $65 million next budget year, freeing up general fund tax dollars that can be spent on other programs.
JBC Democrats say it’s a reasonable way for the state to grapple with the rising cost of Medicaid. After all, why should state fees on nursing homes count against the TABOR cap when state fees on hospitals don’t?
Kirkmeyer and other Republicans say that doing so is the equivalent of raising taxes by $65 million, because it would reduce taxpayer refunds owed under TABOR by the same amount. And it wouldn’t just circumvent TABOR, they argue.
Reclassifying the fee as a TABOR-exempt enterprise may also violate a more recent restriction put in place by voters when they approved Proposition 117 in 2020. The measure, which was backed by conservative political groups, requires voter approval for any new enterprises that generate more than $100 million over their first five years.
“I am not an attorney, but it’s not hard to figure out that adding a fee for nursing facilities to a fee that was for hospitals is not the same thing,” Kirkmeyer said. “We are, in effect, creating a new enterprise.”
The proposal was first suggested by the JBC’s staff, who said the same legal arguments used to create the hospital enterprise in the first place should apply here, too. The hospital fee was upheld following a six-year court battle, over the objections of conservatives. Each of the fees allow the state to draw down additional federal funding for health providers.
Kirkmeyer, though, worries that if the nursing fee is challenged in court, it could endanger the entire enterprise, which funds the state’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
“I do not want to put that in jeopardy,” Kirkmeyer said. “It would be devastating to our budget. It would be devastating to people who are less fortunate than us.”
JBC Democrats, however, say they’re confident the move is legal under Proposition 117 without voter approval — and constitutional under TABOR.
“We didn’t just decide to do this without advice and counsel from attorneys,” said Sen. Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat. “We don’t want to put anybody’s money at risk either.”
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BUDGET IMPLICATIONS
The provider fee dispute is a reminder that just because the six-member Joint Budget Committee passed the main budget legislation with unanimous support doesn’t mean the entire spending package has the panel’s blessing.
The long bill and its companion bills, known as orbitals, all require unanimous approval from the six-member JBC to be considered part of the official budget package. But the spending plan also relies on legislation — like the nursing enterprise — that isn’t technically running as a JBC bill, even though the budget wouldn’t be balanced without it.
“I’m doing this knowing that this will throw our budget off by $75 million,” Kirkmeyer said, explaining her vote against it on the Senate floor. “And I don’t take that lightly. But I also don’t take lightly the law.”
Kirkmeyer and Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican, voted in committee against expanding the enterprise, denying Senate Bill 270 the unanimous support needed to give it the JBC’s stamp of approval. But unlike Kirkmeyer, Taggart voted to approve the bill once it reached the House floor as part of the budget package.
If the proposal passes into law as expected, it wouldn’t just help lawmakers balance next year’s budget. It could also allow the state to increase the fee in the future, according to JBC documents. Colorado charges 3.9% of net patient revenues. Federal law, however, allows states to charge up to 6%, which can be leveraged for additional federal funding.
JBC staff estimate it would take six to 12 months to secure federal approval to increase the fee, plus additional time for the Polis administration to implement any changes.
WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
THE NARRATIVE
House attempts to save property tax, kidney programs
Lawmakers in the Colorado House this week mounted a bipartisan rescue attempt for two state programs on the budget chopping block.
Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, led the effort to keep the state treasurer’s office in charge of a little-used property tax deferral program rather than send it back to the handful of counties that used to administer it on their own.
On a voice vote, the House agreed to a Titone proposal that would keep the statewide program in place for at least another year. The amendment would provide $600,000 to renew the software used to manage applications and track the tax deferral loans — negotiated down from the $1.8 million state Treasurer Dave Young initially requested.
The deferral program allows homeowners to put off paying chunks of their property taxes until they — or their estate — sells their home. The legislature expanded the program in 2021 and centralized it under the state treasurer’s office, thinking that as many as 35,000 homeowners might take advantage of it amid a historic spike in home values.
But last year, fewer than 2,000 people even applied — a number so small that budget writers say the state is spending more money to administer the program than the tax relief is even worth.
“It was a $16,000 cost per household,” Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat who serves on the JBC, said this week. “It would’ve been easier and more affordable just to pay their property taxes, rather than the deferral program costs.”
Supporters, though, note the program has been growing since the state took over its administration — and if it grows enough, it could pay for itself through the interest generated on the tax loans. Plus, they say last year was a particularly bad test of its potential demand. Tax bills went out late in many counties after lawmakers enacted last minute tax cuts during the 2023 special legislative session, hampering outreach efforts.
A 2026 election aside: The fight over the program pits Titone against her Democratic primary opponent in the state treasurer’s race — Sen. Jeff Bridges, who chairs the JBC and argued that the program wasn’t worth the cost.
Still, the program’s fate remains uncertain. The Senate would have to approve the funding once the JBC re-emerges next week with a rebalanced budget package. The upper chamber last week voted unanimously to approve the orbital bill unwinding the state’s role in the program.
KIDNEY DISEASE TASK FORCE
House Democrats also joined with some Republicans to reject a bill eliminating the state’s kidney disease prevention task force. The JBC had cut the panel’s $99,000 budget for next fiscal year, noting that it was set for repeal on Sept. 1, 2026, anyway.
Rep. Sheila Lieder, a Littleton Democrat who serves on the task force, said their work was helping educate health providers and patients alike on the need for preventative treatment, which can help stave off more serious — and costly — disease.
“One preventative treatment for dialysis would pay for this entire program,” Lieder said, noting that the annual costs of some kidney disease treatments can exceed $200,000.
But Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat who serves on the JBC, argued that those who wanted to restore the task force’s funding weren’t seeing the forest for the trees.
“We have (health care) providers who are bracing for cuts — these are the people that will treat you and give you the counseling to prevent not just kidney disease but heart disease, breast cancer — all the things,” she said.
After a number of lawmakers told personal stories about family members who had suffered from kidney disease, Bird noted that her mother, too, had been diagnosed with a kidney disorder.
“What saved her life was access to her doctor,” Bird said. “And that is what your budget is funding.”
Taken together, the two programs represent a tiny fraction of the money the JBC cut from the budget to close a $1.2 billion gap. And, budget writers argued, those programs didn’t have as much impact on Coloradans as other difficult cuts they agreed to.
“There are certain things that come to your attention because we have to run a bill to repeal or change a law,” Bird told the House. “We have cut many things — and many things that you don’t know about.”
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Democrat Yadira Caraveo’s bid to retake the 8th Congressional District seat she lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans last year appears imminent.
Caraveo is calling people who supported her past congressional campaigns to talk to them about her “plans for the future.” That’s likely an early fundraising play.
We were expecting the former congresswoman to launch her 2026 campaign this week, but it appears her announcement has been delayed until next week.
ELECTION 2026
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold says her campaign for attorney general raised more than $185,000 from 869 donors in its first 24 hours this week.
“I am honored by the outpouring of support and excited that so many Coloradans have joined our campaign. I look forward to meeting with Coloradans across the state to discuss my plans to stand up to Trump, fight to protect our rights and freedoms, and protect the Colorado way of life,” she said in a written statement.
COLORADO HOUSE
A few Democrats have filed in recent days to run for Colorado House seats next year.
Alexis Hoffkling, a family medicine doctor, is running in House District 23 to replace term-limited House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge.
Danielle M. Varda, an associate professor at University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs, is running in House District 27 to replace state Rep. Brianna Titone, who is running to be Colorado’s treasurer.
Democrat Mike Barlow-Roach, a law student, is running in House District 3 to replace term-limited state Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Arapahoe County.
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LABOR
Michael Bennet declines to wade into Labor Peace Act fight as he launches his gubernatorial bid
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet declined to wade into the Labor Peace Act fight at the Colorado Capitol this week during an interview with The Unaffiliated prior to the official launch of his gubernatorial campaign.
We asked the Democrat if he would sign Senate Bill 5 if he were governor. He said he’s “very familiar” with the issue but that he thinks “it’s best to let people work their will.”
“I hope they come to a compromise that serves all parties well,” he said. “I don’t want to comment (further) because I don’t want to mess with the negotiation.”
The bill would repeal a requirement that 75% of workers at a company sign off before a union can begin discussions with an employer over union security. Union security is when workers are forced to pay collective bargaining representation fees whether they are in a union or not.
Bennet may not be commenting on the negotiations, but he’s definitely already a factor.
From our story last week on the status of the measure:
The business community knows Gov. Jared Polis almost certainly won’t sign the measure unless there are changes. And labor knows that the governor will only be around until early 2027. There is also the distinct possibility of a costly ballot measure fight.
State Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill, hinted at the political dynamics when talking to reporters recently.
“I’m confident that Michael Bennet would sign it if we’re unable to get it done this year,” Mabrey said, adding, however, that a deal is still possible in 2025.
BERNIE SANDERS URGES SUPPORTERS TO CONTACT POLIS
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, hot off his visit to Colorado, is urging supporters to pressure Gov. Jared Polis to sign Senate Bill 5. Sanders sent an email to people who attended his Colorado rallies asking them to call Polis and urge him to sign the bill, which is stalled in the House.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR INTERVIEW WITH BENNET
Here are some other highlights from our conversation with Michael Bennet before he launched his gubernatorial bid Friday:
PHIL WEISER’S CAMPAIGN TEAM
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has made a number of hires for his gubernatorial campaign.
Anna Huck will serve as campaign manager. She served as finance director for North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
A number of consultants are also working for Weiser:
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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