Weekly Policy Blog: Legislative Session Update
By: Colorado BioScience Association Date: 02/05/2024
The first few weeks of the Colorado legislative session require intensive engagement at the Capitol and comprehensive review of proposed legislation by CBSA’s Policy + Advocacy team to support a collaborative, pro-innovation environment for life sciences in Colorado and advance the state as a leading hub for life sciences.
To advance CBSA’s Policy Priorities, CBSA is taking positions on sixteen of the 320 bills introduced so far during the 2024 legislative session. Currently, CBSA supports four bills and opposes one bill. Additionally, we are taking an “amend” position on four bills and are monitoring seven other bills.
This week’s policy blog compiles bill summaries for and provides CBSA’s positions on current bills that impact Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem.
Support:
- HB24-1149 Prior Authorization Requirements Alternatives (Rep. S. Bird, Rep. L. Frizell; Sen. B. Kirkmeyer, Sen. D. Roberts) requires carriers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to adopt a program to eliminate or substantially modify prior authorization requirements in a manner that removes administrative burdens on qualified providers and their patients with regard to certain healthcare services, prescription drugs, or related benefits based on specified criteria. The bill would also extend the duration of an approved prior authorization for a healthcare service or prescription drug benefit from 180 days to a year.
- This bill furthers CBSA’s policy priority of protecting timely patient access to needed therapies and technologies by removing unnecessary coverage barriers and reducing delays to treatment.
- SB24-050 Colorado Workforce Demonstration Grants Pilot Program (Sen. T. Exum) creates a pilot program to award grants to eligible workforce training providers, based on certain criteria. The program would be repealed in 2029.
- This bill furthers CBSA’s policy priority of supporting workforce development initiatives to create a talent pipeline for the growing life sciences ecosystem.
- SB24-054 Diabetes Prevention & Obesity Treatment Act (Sen. D. Michaelson Jenet; Rep. K. Brown, Rep. J. Mabrey) requires private insurance companies to provide coverage for the treatment of the chronic disease of obesity and the treatment of pre-diabetes, including coverage for intensive behavioral or lifestyle therapy, bariatric surgery, and FDA-approved anti-obesity medication. No later than January 2025, the bill requires the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF) to seek federal authorization to provide treatment for the chronic disease of obesity and the treatment of pre-diabetes.
- This bill furthers CBSA’s policy priority of protecting timely patient access to needed therapies and technologies by improving coverage for and access to innovative treatments.
- SB24-104 Career & Technical Education & Apprenticeships (Sen. J. Danielson) requires the state apprenticeship agency in the Department of Labor and Employment, in coordination with the career and technical education division of the Colorado community college system, to align the high school career and technical education system and the registered apprenticeship system for programs and occupations related to infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, education, or health care. By July 2026, the bill requires both entities to expand the number of aligned pathways, prioritizing programs and occupations identified as top jobs by the annual Colorado talent pipeline report.
- This bill furthers CBSA’s policy priority of supporting workforce development initiatives to create a talent pipeline for the growing life sciences ecosystem through efforts to enhance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and encourage the development of educational pathways, internship programs, and other initiatives to grow Colorado’s life sciences workforce.
Oppose:
- SB24-077 Prescription Drug Manufacturer Requirements (Sen. S. Jaquez Lewis, Sen. D. Michaelson Jenet; Rep. K. McCormick) requires each manufacturer of a prescription drug that is available for purchase in this state to register with and pay a fee to the Colorado Division of Insurance. The bill also requires a drug manufacturer that offers a copay assistance program to offer the program to a covered person either for the entire plan year or for the calendar year, whichever the deductible and out-of-pocket calculation applies to, for as long as the covered person is enrolled in the health benefit plan. A manufacturer that violates these requirements commits an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance.
- This bill threatens CBSA’s policy priorities by potentially compromising patient assistance programs that help increase patient access to needed therapies. The bill also makes Colorado a less hospitable regulatory environment for life sciences companies.
Amend:
- SB24-061 Creating a Drug Donation Program (Sen. R. Rodriguez) creates a Colorado drug donation program to facilitate the safe donation and redispensing of medicine, including prescription and nonprescription or over-the-counter drugs, FDA-approved drugs labeled for investigational use, and medical devices. Under the program, a donor donates medicine to a donation recipient for redispensing to eligible patients. Donated medicine is prioritized first for Colorado residents who are indigent, uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in a public health benefits program (eligible patient). An eligible patient or the patient’s health insurance is not charged for the medicine, other than handling or dispensing charges and other customary charges.
- The bill has exclusions for certain kinds of drugs and under certain circumstances; however, CBSA is advocating for an additional exclusion for riskier drugs designated as Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) drugs by the FDA.
- SB24-081 Perfluoroalkyl & Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals (Sen. L. Cutter; Rep. C. Kipp, Rep. M. Rutinel) makes a number of changes to the law that prohibits the sale or distribution of certain consumer product categories that contain intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS chemicals), commonly known as “forever chemicals.” Although the bill expands the scope of the PFAS law, it also includes an amendment that attempts to clarify that all “drugs, medical devices, biologics, or diagnostics” regulated by the FDA are exempt.
- CBSA had advocated for this amendment and is continuing to work with the bill sponsors to ensure the language of the exemption fully captures the intent.
- HB24-1036 Adjusting Certain Tax Expenditures (Rep. L. Frizell, Rep. M. Weissman; Sen. C. Hansen, Sen. C. Kolker) modifies several tax expenditures and repeals a variety of infrequently used tax expenditures, including the Biotechnology Sales and Use Tax Refund, which was discussed in the September 2022 Tax Expenditures Compilation Report from the Colorado Office of the State Auditor.
- CBSA has been working with the bill sponsors to at least remove the repeal of the Biotechnology Sales and Use Tax Refund from this bill or, ideally, change the refund to an exemption at the point of sale so it is easier to utilize, which would address some of the reasons that the refund is currently underutilized.
- HB24-1058 Protect Privacy of Biological Data (Rep. C. Kipp, Rep. M. Soper; Sen. M. Baisley, Sen. K. Priola) amends the 2021 “Colorado Privacy Act” and expands the definition of “sensitive data,” which is given additional protections, to include “biological data,” which also includes “neural data.”
- There are already a number of exemptions in the Colorado Privacy Act, including an exemption for protected health information (PHI) covered by HIPAA, but CBSA has proposed a new “limited data set” exemption that would apply if the obligations specified under the HIPAA privacy rule’s provisions concerning “limited data sets” are met. It appears this proposed exemption will not fit under the HB24-1058 bill title, though, so CBSA will continue to look for alternative vehicles for this proposed amendment to the Colorado Privacy Act.
Monitor:
- HB24-1010 Insurance Coverage for Provider-Administered Drugs (Rep. I. Jodeh, Rep. M. Soper; Sen. D. Michaelson Jenet) addresses insurer and PBM practices related to the distribution of provider-administered medicines by specialty pharmacies (“white bagging”).
- HB24-1121 Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment (Rep. B. Titone, Rep. S. Woodrow; Sen. J. Bridges, Sen. N. Hinrichsen) creates a “right to repair” digital electronic equipment, but it exempts medical devices.
- HB24-1130 Privacy of Biometric Identifiers & Data (Rep. L. Daugherty, Rep. M. Lynch; Sen. C. Hansen, Sen. P. Lundeen) amends the Colorado Privacy Act to add protections for biometric data, but it focuses more on businesses and employers (and the exemption for PHI covered by HIPAA still applies).
- SB24-060 Prescription Drug Affordability Board Exempt Orphan Drugs (Sen. J. Ginal, Sen. B. Kirkmeyer; Rep. M. Duran, Rep. A. Hartsook) states that the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) has no authority to perform an affordability review of, or to establish an upper payment limit for, any prescription drug that is designated as a drug for a rare disease or condition by the FDA.
- SB24-067 Health-Related Research Test Subjects (Sen. S. Jaquez Lewis; Rep. L. García, Rep. M. Rutinel) requires facilities that use animals for health-related research to submit annual reports to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) regarding the use of animals in the facility and transfer dogs and cats owned by the facility to animal shelters and pet animal rescues before euthanizing the animal.
- SB24-080 Transparency in Health-Care Coverage (Sen. R. Fields, Sen. S. Jaquez Lewis; Rep. M. Young) codifies the Transparency in Coverage federal rules in Colorado to provide transparency to the public regarding health insurer price and cost sharing information.
- SB24-087 Health Facility Topical Medication Continued Care (Sen. K. Mullica; Rep. L. Daugherty) allows a healthcare provider and a health facility to provide a patient with certain topical medications for the patient’s continuity of treatment after discharge from or leaving the health facility, if the medications were used at the health facility by the patient for a surgical procedure or for a visit to a physician’s office or medical practice.
CBSA’s Advocacy: CBSA’s Policy + Advocacy team collaborates with partners and policymakers to advocate for CBSA’s Policy Priorities. CBSA supports a collaborative, pro-innovation environment for life sciences in Colorado to advance the state as a leading life sciences hub. With Colorado in the national spotlight for action on issues that affect the life sciences ecosystem and the patients it serves, CBSA’s role as the voice of Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem is more important than ever.
CBSA will be hosting its annual Day at the Capitol on February 28th (register here for this member-only event). To get involved with CBSA’s advocacy efforts or talk about your concerns, perspectives, or position on a bill, please contact CBSA’s Vice President and Counsel for Policy + Advocacy, Amy Goodman.