DENVER, CO \u2013 The Governor today signed two bills into law to restore access to Medicaid services for Planned Parenthood patients and to give voters the opportunity to fund food assistance for Colorado students and families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SB25B-002<\/a>, sponsored by Senators Jeff Bridges, D-Arapahoe County, and Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada, and House Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Representative Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, authorizes state funding for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health care providers removed from the federal Medicaid program by H.R.1. This action will restore access to health care services for more than 10,000 patients in Colorado.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans in Congress want you to believe their budget puts working-class Americans first, but the exact opposite is true \u2013 this budget is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,\u201d\u00a0Bridges said. \u201cThousands of Coloradans on Medicaid who rely on Planned Parenthood had to scramble to find different providers or went without care altogether after H.R.1 passed. This legislation will restore access to that care and peace of mind to patients across our state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHealth care shouldn’t be political,\u201d Bacon said. \u201cThe federal GOP budget bill targeted Planned Parenthood, threatening access to low-cost family planning and preventive care for all Coloradans in all corners of our state. All Coloradans, whether or not they are a Medicaid recipient, deserve access to reproductive health care. This new law is an effort to fight back against the largest cut to Medicaid in the history of our country and protect thousands of Coloradans from losing this essential health care coverage and access to the provider of their choice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTime and time again, and most recently, last November, Colorado voters have overwhelmingly said they will support and defend their right to reproductive health care,\u201d\u00a0Daugherty said. \u201cAmidst a hostile national landscape, this legislation is yet another step we must take to protect Coloradans\u2019 right to safe, accessible and affordable reproductive health care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDespite Coloradans\u2019 overwhelming support of reproductive freedom, Congressional Republicans continue to attack access to life-saving health care,\u201d Willford said.\u00a0\u201cWhen Trump\u2019s budget was signed into law, it forced Planned Parenthood to immediately cancel every appointment for Medicaid recipients. While corporations enjoy their new tax breaks, Coloradans on Medicaid risk losing access to STI testing, cancer screenings and abortion care. I\u2019m proud to stand up for Coloradans with this new law that will restore access to life-saving care.\u201d<\/p>\n SB25B-002<\/a>\u00a0authorizes the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to use state funds to pay claims to organizations like Planned Parenthood, who were barred from federal Medicaid funding by Congressional Republicans\u2019 H.R. 1, for certain services including cancer screenings, birth control consultations, and STI testing. In the event that federal action renders these entities eligible for reimbursements again, the law would no longer be in effect.<\/p>\n H.R. 1 immediately removed Planned Parenthood from the federal Medicaid program, forcing Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains providers to cancel thousands of appointments<\/a>. Weeks later, a Temporary Restraining Order reversed this federal prohibition, though the issue is still working its way through the courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n