United States of Care Provides Testimony to Colorado Senate Health & Human Services Committee in Support of Legislation to Protect People’s Access to Preventive Services

On Thursday, March 27, United States of Care (USofCare) Senior Policy Manager Eric Waskowicz delivered testimony before the Colorado Health & Human Services Committee in support of SB25-196, legislation introduced by Senator Iman Jodeh, that would protect people’s access to preventive care services.

For more than 15 years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has ensured that people have access to more than 60 critical preventive care services, such as cancer screenings, HIV prevention medication, and counseling services, at no cost. Unfortunately, a court case called Kennedy v. Braidwood Management Inc. currently before the Supreme Court has caused significant uncertainty as to whether this no-cost requirement will exist in full or in part once the Supreme Court makes a decision in the case in late June or early July.

SB25-196 would provide Colorado families peace of mind knowing that, no matter what happens on the federal level, they would still have access to needed preventive care for free. The bill codifies existing preventive care services and relies on the expertise of Colorado physicians and nurses to update this list to reflect advances in medicine and best practice.

Following the testimony of Eric and others, the Committee voted to advance the bill to the full Senate for consideration. We thank Senator Jodeh for her leadership with this bill and encourage both the Senate and House to support the bill in order to protect people’s access to preventive care.