First Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REENGROSSED
This Version Includes All Amendments
Adopted in the House of Introduction
LLS NO. 25-0611.01 Anna Petrini x5497
HOUSE BILL 25-1026
House Committees Senate Committees
Judiciary
Appropriations
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING PROCEDURES RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF101
HEALTH-CARE SERVICES TO INMATES , AND, IN CONNECTION102
THEREWITH, PROHIBITING CERTAIN COPAYMENTS AND
FEES AND103
MAKING AND REDUCING AN APPROPRIATION .104
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
Current law requires the department of corrections (department)
to assess a copayment for inmate-initiated visits to providers of medical,
dental, mental health, and optometric care services. Current law permits
HOUSE
3rd Reading Unamended
April 16, 2025
HOUSE
Amended 2nd Reading
April 15, 2025
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Carter and Garcia, Bacon, Boesenecker, Brown, Clifford, English, Jackson, Lindsay,
Mabrey, Rydin, Sirota, Stewart R., Story, Velasco, Woodrow, Zokaie
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Jodeh and Hinrichsen,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. a waiver or reduction of the copayment under a range of circumstances.
The department's current administrative regulations assess fees when an
inmate fails to attend or refuses a scheduled health-care appointment. The
bill eliminates the copayment and prohibits the department from assessing
a fee when an inmate fails to attend or refuses a health-care appointment.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) The U.S. supreme court in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 974
(1976), established that people who are incarcerated have a constitutional5
right to health care, and prison health care supports community reentry6
and well-being;7
(b) Colorado law authorizes the Colorado department of8
corrections to charge people who are incarcerated copayments and9
additional charges for emergency, medical, mental health, dental, and10
optometric visits, as well as charges for requesting, using, refusing, or11
failing to use medical services;12
(c) Pursuant to section 17-1-113 (1)(a), Colorado Revised13
Statutes, the general assembly has previously found "that the procedures14
for charging inmates a copayment for medical services are confusing to15
department personnel and, as a result, are inconsistently applied";16
(d) Copayments and other medical charges in prison create17
financial barriers that restrict access to critical health-care treatment.18
Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2024 demonstrates19
that the burden of paying health-care charges in prison prevents people20
who are incarcerated from seeking essential services, including medical21
and mental health treatment.22
(e) Copayments and other medical charges in prison jeopardize23
1026-2- the health of Coloradans. According to a 2024 article in the centers for1
disease control and prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases,2
reductions in prison health-care use can increase the spread of illness and3
disease, negatively affecting people who are incarcerated, prison staff and4
visitors, and the broader public.5
(f) Public health, mental health, law, and corrections experts6
oppose health-care charges in prison, including copayments and any other7
policies or practices that restrict people's access to health care; and8
(g) To fulfill the department of corrections' mission to build a9
safer Colorado, and to support the health of all Coloradans, copayments10
and additional charges for requesting, using, refusing, or failing to use11
medical services in prison must be repealed.12
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 17-1-112.7 as13
follows:14
17-1-112.7. Medical visits - copayment and fees prohibited -15
repeal. (1) T HE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT ASSESS A COPAYMENT AGAINST16
AN INMATE ACCOUNT FOR MEDICAL , DENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH, OR17
OPTOMETRIC SERVICES, INCLUDING SPECIALTY OR EMERGENCY CARE18
SERVICES, PROVIDED TO THE INMATE.19
(2) T
HE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT ASSESS A FEE AGAINST AN20
INMATE ACCOUNT IF AN INMATE:21
(a) F
AILS TO ATTEND A SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT FOR MEDICAL ,22
DENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING23
SPECIALTY CARE SERVICES;24
(b) F
AILS TO PROVIDE TIMELY NOTICE WHEN THE INMATE IS25
UNABLE TO ATTEND A SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT FOR MEDICAL , DENTAL,26
MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING SPECIALTY27
1026
-3- CARE SERVICES; AND1
(c) O
THERWISE REFUSES AN APPOINTMENT FOR MEDICAL , DENTAL,2
MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING SPECIALTY3
OR EMERGENCY CARE SERVICES .4 (3) IN JANUARY 2026, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL INCLUDE, AS PART5
OF ITS PRESENTATION DURING ITS"SMART ACT" HEARING REQUIRED BY6
SECTION 2-7-203, INFORMATION CONCERNING THE NUMBER OF TIMES IN7
THE PREVIOUS YEAR THAT:8
(a) AN INMATE FAILED TO ATTEND A SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT9
FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CARE SERVICES,10
INCLUDING SPECIALTY CARE SERVICES ; AND11
(b) AN INMATE INITIATED A REQUEST FOR MEDICAL , DENTAL,12
MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING SPECIALTY13
CARE SERVICES, AND, FOLLOWING A VISIT WITH A PROVIDER, THE14
PROVIDER DETERMINED THAT THE REQUEST WAS NOT RELEVANT TO ANY15
MEDICAL, DENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH, OR OPTOMETRIC CONDITION.16
(4) THIS SECTION IS REPEALED, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2028.17
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, repeal 17-1-113.18
SECTION 4. Appropriation - adjustments to 2025 long bill.19
(1) To implement this act, appropriations made in the annual general20
appropriation act for the 2025-26 state fiscal year to the department of21
corrections for use by the medical services subprogram are adjusted as22
follows:23
(a) The cash funds appropriation from inmate medical fees24
collected pursuant to section 17-1-113 (2), C.R.S., for personal services25
is decreased by $322,089, and the related FTE is decreased by 3.0 FTE;26
and27
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-4- (b) The cash funds appropriation from inmate medical fees1
collected pursuant to section 17-1-113 (2), C.R.S., for indirect cost2
assessment is decreased by $772.3
(2) For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $157,179 is appropriated to4
the department of corrections for use by the medical services subprogram.5
This appropriation is from the general fund and is based on an assumption6
that the department will require an additional 1.5 FTE. To implement this7
act, the subprogram may use this appropriation for personal services.8
SECTION 5. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,9
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate10
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for11
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state12
institutions.13
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