republic-os/legislation/us/states/co/2026a/sb-138.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Reducing Administrative Burdens on Health Care	Section 2 of the act repeals a requirement that health-care profession regulators adopt rules that require each licensed health-care provider, as a condition of renewing, reactivating, or reinstating a license, to complete up to 4 credit hours of training per licensing cycle in order to demonstrate competency regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 3 authorizes the Colorado dental board to adopt rules that require every dentist, dental therapist, and dental hygienist, as a condition of renewing, reactivating, or reinstating a license, to complete up to 4 credit hours of training per licensing cycle regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 4 requires a licensed veterinarian to complete at least 1 hour of training per renewal period regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 5 changes the frequency at which specific health-care facilities are required to apply for a license issued by the department of public health and environment from annually to every 2 years. Under current law, a health-care facility is required to screen each uninsured patient for eligibility for public health insurance programs and discounted care (screening) utilizing a single uniform application developed by the department of health care policy and financing (state department). Sections 6 through 11 change this requirement by:Changing the method used to conduct the screening from a uniform application to use of a third-party resource, such as a major credit bureau, or use of a uniform screening questionnaire (questionnaire) developed by the state department;Allowing a health-care facility the option of screening a patient for eligibility for the health-care facility's financial assistance program;Requiring a health-care facility to provide specified notifications upon completion of the screening;Creating an application for discounted care (application) for use by a health-care facility upon completion of the screening through which additional information is requested from a patient to determine whether the patient qualifies or is likely to qualify for public health-care coverage or discounted care;Requiring a health-care facility to provide specified notice and appeal rights to a patient upon completion and review of the application; andRequiring the state department to adopt rules regarding the questionnaire and application. Section 11 also narrows state department review requirements of health-care facilities' and licensed health-care professionals' billing for patients who are indigent. The act prohibits the state department from making changes to regulatory documents or imposing new requirements unless the changes or new requirements are adopted by rule by specified dates and are subject to stakeholder engagement. Section 12 requires the state department to establish by rule the content and format of the information each hospital must provide to the state department for a hospital transparency report at least 30 days prior to the hospital's fiscal year. The act changes the deadline for a hospital to submit to the state department an annual audited financial statement from 120 days to 150 days after the end of the hospital's fiscal year. Current law requires that each hospital has a minimum of 15 days to review the hospital transparency report; the act specifies that the review period is 15 business days and requires that a statewide hospital association must also have a minimum of 15 business days to review the report.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)	us/states/co	Colorado General Assembly	2026A	SB 138	Colorado SB 138 (2026A)	bill	Health Care & Health Insurance Public Health	enacted	K. Mullica K. Stewart L. Daugherty	7	14	13	2026-03-11	2026-06-02	openstates	ocd-bill/3b4e2bc1-1fc9-40c8-a436-6c615ce6351b	https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-138	80b68a3466bcd891eb82cab8d055c599ed6b747c317e2de32c05d782e767fa81	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-co

Colorado SB 138 (2026A) — Reducing Administrative Burdens on Health Care

Section 2 of the act repeals a requirement that health-care profession regulators adopt rules that require each licensed health-care provider, as a condition of renewing, reactivating, or reinstating a license, to complete up to 4 credit hours of training per licensing cycle in order to demonstrate competency regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 3 authorizes the Colorado dental board to adopt rules that require every dentist, dental therapist, and dental hygienist, as a condition of renewing, reactivating, or reinstating a license, to complete up to 4 credit hours of training per licensing cycle regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 4 requires a licensed veterinarian to complete at least 1 hour of training per renewal period regarding topics related to prescribing drugs and treatment. Section 5 changes the frequency at which specific health-care facilities are required to apply for a license issued by the department of public health and environment from annually to every 2 years. Under current law, a health-care facility is required to screen each uninsured patient for eligibility for public health insurance programs and discounted care (screening) utilizing a single uniform application developed by the department of health care policy and financing (state department). Sections 6 through 11 change this requirement by:Changing the method used to conduct the screening from a uniform application to use of a third-party resource, such as a major credit bureau, or use of a uniform screening questionnaire (questionnaire) developed by the state department;Allowing a health-care facility the option of screening a patient for eligibility for the health-care facility's financial assistance program;Requiring a health-care facility to provide specified notifications upon completion of the screening;Creating an application for discounted care (application) for use by a health-care facility upon completion of the screening through which additional information is requested from a patient to determine whether the patient qualifies or is likely to qualify for public health-care coverage or discounted care;Requiring a health-care facility to provide specified notice and appeal rights to a patient upon completion and review of the application; andRequiring the state department to adopt rules regarding the questionnaire and application. Section 11 also narrows state department review requirements of health-care facilities' and licensed health-care professionals' billing for patients who are indigent. The act prohibits the state department from making changes to regulatory documents or imposing new requirements unless the changes or new requirements are adopted by rule by specified dates and are subject to stakeholder engagement. Section 12 requires the state department to establish by rule the content and format of the information each hospital must provide to the state department for a hospital transparency report at least 30 days prior to the hospital's fiscal year. The act changes the deadline for a hospital to submit to the state department an annual audited financial statement from 120 days to 150 days after the end of the hospital's fiscal year. Current law requires that each hospital has a minimum of 15 days to review the hospital transparency report; the act specifies that the review period is 15 business days and requires that a statewide hospital association must also have a minimum of 15 business days to review the report.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Introduced (filed) — source
2. Engrossed (committee substitute) — source
3. Final Act (committee substitute) — source
4. Reengrossed (committee substitute) — source
5. Rerevised (committee substitute) — source
6. Revised (committee substitute) — source
7. Signed Act (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Adopt amendment L.012 (Attachment D). — pass (pass) · upper
• Refer Senate Bill 26-138 to the Committee of the Whole. — pass (pass) · upper
• Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment L). — pass (pass) · upper
• Refer Senate Bill 26-138, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. — pass (pass) · upper
• REPASS — pass (pass) · lower
• Refer Senate Bill 26-138, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. — pass (pass) · upper
• CONCUR — pass (pass) · lower
• Adopt amendment L.013 (Attachment E). — pass (pass) · upper
• Adopt amendment L.008 (Attachment O). — pass (pass) · upper
• Reconsider — pass (pass) · upper
• Adopt amendment L.005 (Attachment M). — pass (pass) · upper
• Adopt amendment L.006 (Attachment N). — pass (pass) · upper
• BILL — pass (pass) · lower

Sponsors

• K. Mullica — primary (person)
• K. Stewart — primary (person)
• L. Daugherty — primary (person)
• A. Boesenecker — cosponsor (person)
• C. Kipp — cosponsor (person)
• C. Kolker — cosponsor (person)
• D. Roberts — cosponsor (person)
• I. Jodeh — cosponsor (person)
• J. Bacon — cosponsor (person)
• J. Bridges — cosponsor (person)
• J. Carson — cosponsor (person)
• J. Coleman — cosponsor (person)
• J. Danielson — cosponsor (person)
• J. Marchman — cosponsor (person)
• J. McCluskie — cosponsor (person)
• K. McCormick — cosponsor (person)
• L. Cutter — cosponsor (person)
• M. Ball — cosponsor (person)
• M. Duran — cosponsor (person)
• M. Lindsay — cosponsor (person)
• S. Bright — cosponsor (person)
• T. Exum — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2026-06-02 Governor Signed executive-signature
• 2026-05-21 Sent to the Governor executive-receipt
• 2026-05-21 Signed by the Speaker of the House passage
• 2026-05-21 Signed by the President of the Senate passage
• 2026-05-08 Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
• 2026-05-07 House Third Reading Passed with Amendments - Floor passage, reading-3
• 2026-05-06 House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
• 2026-05-05 House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole committee-passage, referral-committee
• 2026-05-01 Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human Services introduction
• 2026-05-01 Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments passage, reading-3
• 2026-04-30 Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
• 2026-04-30 Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole committee-passage, referral-committee
• 2026-04-23 Senate Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to Appropriations referral-committee
• 2026-03-11 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Health & Human Services introduction

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/3b4e2bc1-1fc9-40c8-a436-6c615ce6351b. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).