Press Room

Gov. Ritter signs Sen. Morse's Health Care Cost Transparency Act

Wednesday, May 26 2010

AURORA ─ Gov. Ritter today signed eight pieces of legislation that will continue to make Colorado a leader in the delivery of quality health care, in improving efficiencies and cost-savings, and in preventing childhood injuries.

“For four years, we have delivered reform after reform to slow rising costs, improve quality and increase access,” Gov. Ritter said during a signing ceremony at The Children’s Hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Dozens of health-care providers and advocates and numerous state lawmakers attended.

 “In difficult budget years, we have found creative ways to get the most value out of every dollar,” the Governor added. “Because of these efforts, because we didn’t wait for Washington, Colorado is now one of the best-positioned states in the nation to effectively implement health care reform. Working with the legislature, we are once again delivering a package of laws that will improve quality and contain costs.”

House Bill 1330 (Kefalas & Kagan/Morse) improves transparency in the health care system by establishing a database of claims.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Rep. John Kefalas said. “This is especially true with our big, complicated health care system. Adding transparency about what medical procedures cost will help us drive down costs and increase value.”  

“This bill represents a common sense solution to improve our health care system and lower costs,” said Sen. John Morse. “By creating one place to get information, we can give consumers the knowledge to make responsible choices about their health care and provide physicians with accurate and easily interpreted patient information.”

Read these news releases for information about additional 2010 health-care legislation:

• Gov. Ritter Signs Health, Cancer Bills in Lafayette (May 17, 2010)
• Gov. Ritter Signs HB 1242 as Part of 2010 Health Agenda (May 10, 2010)
• Colorado Begins to Implement National Health Reform (April 20, 2010)
• Gov. Ritter Signs Bill to Ban Health Insurance Gender Discrimination (March 20, 2010)
• Gov. Ritter, Lawmakers Announce Health Legislation (Feb. 11, 2010) 

For a full list of Gov. Ritter’s 2010 legislation decisions, visit www.colorado.gov/governor or click here.