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Several Business-Related Colorado Laws Kick in Thursday

Thursday, July 1 2010

The Denver Business Journal
By: Ed Sealover
June 30th, 2010

Small-group insurers in Colorado will be forced to begin covering autism disorders on Thursday, but they also will be able to offer rewards to clients who satisfactorily complete a wellness and prevention program.

The laws requiring the new rules are just two of the several dozen state statutes that go into effect on July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year for state government. An even larger swath of laws passed during 2010 takes effect on Aug. 11, which marks 90 days since the closing of the legislative session.

The requirement to cover applied behavior analysis and autism spectrum disorders actually passed during the 2009 session but had a delayed implementation date in order to give insurance companies time to adjust for the new mandate. Senate Bill 09-244, sponsored by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, excludes state employee health plans and health plans administered by institutions of higher education from the mandate.

House Bill 1160, sponsored by Reps. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, and Amy Stephens, R-Monument, is a more pleasing bill to the insurance industry, allowing insurance companies to offer incentives for completing programs for health-improving actions like dieting, exercising and quitting smoking. Federally regulated large-group insurers and self-insured companies have been able to undertake the practice already; the new law allows small-group and individual insurers to tie such incentives to the outcomes of the wellness and prevention programs.

Other business-related laws going into effect on July 1 include:

• Three measures aimed at increasing regulation of Pinnacol Assurance, the quasi-governmental agency that serves as the workers’ compensation insurer of last resort in Colorado and holds accounts for roughly 57 percent of businesses in the state.

House Bill 1012, sponsored by Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, mandates Pinnacol give public notice at least seven days before scheduled meetings. Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, requires doctors giving independent medical examinations to workers’ compensation benefits applicants to disclose any business or financial relationship they have with the insurance carrier. And Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, requires workers’ compensation insurers to survey injured workers and report the findings to the Division of Workers’ Compensation, which will post them on a website.

• Two bills reduce the maximum penalty from $100 to $10 for late payment of vehicle registration fees on non-motorized trailers of 16,000 pounds or less. House Bill 1211, sponsored by Rep. Max Tyler, D-Golden, deals with trailers of 2,000 pounds or less, and Senate Bill 198, sponsored by Sens. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, and Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, includes those between 2,001 and 16,000 pounds.

• Senate Bill 158, sponsored by Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, establishes the Creative Industries Division within the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade in order to promote industries such as film, media and the arts. The division is not an entirely new creation but a relocation of several existing offices, such as the State Council on the Arts and the Office of Film, Television and Media, into one area.