Your home for health care advocacy updates straight from Colorado's Capitol Hill.
Policy Pulse newsletter: Nov. 2, 2021
Colorado Option update: CMS is on it
Rulemaking nearly complete
  • The Colorado Division of Insurance is speeding toward the Nov. 30 deadline to submit the 1332 State Innovation Waiver request to the federal government, which will outline the framework for the standardized plan for the Colorado Option, and the Jan. 1 deadline to finalize rulemaking.

CMS advocating for you
  • The Colorado Medical Society has vigorously advocated for physicians and patients at all stakeholder meetings and has submitted multiple letters with written comments, including this Oct. 20 letter on the draft benefit design regulation and this Oct. 26 letter on the draft network adequacy regulation. Our comments to date have emphasized the need for evidence-based benefit design to help incentivize high-value care and control costs through additional support for prevention and chronic disease management.

The bottom line
  • CMS believes the Colorado Option should be designed to include innovative, evidence-based mechanisms to control costs and reduce health disparities so the plan drives better value in health care, increases competition, and enables broad provider participation. Physicians should not be held responsible for cost cuts in a product that may be flawed from the start.
Need a refresher?
  • The Colorado Option will be available starting in 2023 for Coloradans who buy health insurance on the individual and small group markets. Revisit CMS's Colorado Option Primer 
We need your feedback
on prior authorization
1. How has the burden of prior authorizations changed since Jan. 1, 2020?

Increased / Decreased / No change
2. Do any of the health plans with which you contract offer programs that exempt physicians from prior authorization requirements?

Yes / No / Unsure
Promoting a team-based model
Make your voice heard using the new Scope of Practice toolkit
There are at least three tough scope of practice battles expected during the 2022 legislative session. To prepare, the CMS policy and advocacy team developed a toolkit all members can use to advocate for thoughtful approaches to scope of practice that holds patient safety paramount.
Join the effort! Each section includes data, fact sheets, sample letters and digital graphics to share by email and social media. Explore the toolkit and use it in your discussions with policymakers.
Why should I donate to COMPAC?
Your contributions to COMPAC and the Small Donor Committee support pro-physician candidates.
Monitoring health insurance markets
The American Medical Association's latest annual edition of Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets demonstrates a rise of highly concentrated markets for health insurance.
Data from 2020 shows every Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has either a highly concentrated or moderately concentrated health insurance marketplace in the combined PPO+HMO+POS+Exchange commercial product market​.
Special thanks to the CMS Partners In Medicine
Introducing our newest Partners in Medicine, Panacea Financial and Sharkey, Howes & Javer
Upcoming CMS Meetings
All Colorado Medical Society committee meetings are open to all CMS members. Find the latest list of events on the CMS events webpage, cms.org/events. Upcoming meetings are listed below. Email membership@cms.org for more information.

  • Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Committee - Wednesday, Nov. 3, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Register

  • Metro Denver Legislative Night (virtual) - Wednesday, Nov. 3, 6-7 p.m. Register

  • Committee on Education and Accreditation - Thursday, Nov. 4, 4 - 5:30 p.m. Register

  • Independent Physicians Task Force - Wednesday, Nov. 10, 12-1 p.m. Register

  • CMS Virtual Grand Rounds - Wednesday, Nov. 10, 6 p.m. Register

  • Employed Physicians Task Force - Monday, Nov. 15, 7-8 p.m. Register

  • Physician Mindfulness Group Meeting - Thursday, Nov. 18, 6-7 p.m. Register

Registration is required; non-members or those unable to be identified at the time of the meeting will be removed from the meeting. Unsure if you are a CMS member? Email membership@cms.org.
Learn from industry experts through Partners in Medicine webinar series

The Colorado Medical Society proudly presents the next event in the Partners in Medicine Lunch & Learn webinar series. Registration is open for our Nov. 10 event: The Security Risk Analysis with Abyde.

  • Believe it or not, this year is almost over -- and with time flying that means annual HIPAA and MIPS Security Risk Analysis (SRA) deadlines will be here before we know it, too! This year, don't wait until the last minute. Join Colorado Medical Society's preferred HIPAA compliance partner, Abyde, on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. MST for a live 30-minute webinar on how to quickly and efficiently knock out the most crucial step in a HIPAA compliance program -- the Security Risk Analysis.
CMS Virtual Grand Rounds - Wednesday, Nov. 10, 6 p.m.
Everything you need to know about COVID vax for kids, practice viability, misinformation and more

Register for a Virtual Grand Rounds on Nov. 10 to learn the latest on COVID-19 vaccines for kids and booster doses, how to make vaccinating work for your practice, and the role of physicians in protecting the public from misinformation. This webinar is hosted by the Colorado Medical Society with support from the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians and the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Confirmed speakers:
  • Rachel Herlihy, MD, State Epidemiologist
  • Lily Griego, Regional Director for HHS in Region VIII (CO, MT, ND, SD, WY and UT)
  • Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH, FACP, Director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Let's get social!