Public Policy Priorities

CMS’ state policy priorities

Patient safety and liability reform
We are reframing the discussion about medical liability by starting with the question: “How do we make our health care delivery system safer?” We want to minimize the potential for adverse events, while creating a system for addressing such events and near misses that provides fair and speedy compensation to injured patients, holds providers accountable, and enables us to learn from what happened and make changes that will minimize the potential for recurrence. As we educate lawmakers about the benefits of this approach, we are developing demonstration projects – covering early disclosure and compensation, “no fault” funds and other approaches – that put our principles into action.

Comprehensive health care reform
With the work of CMS’ Physicians Congress for Health Care Reform as our foundation, the Public Affairs team advocates for policies that will make health care and coverage more affordable and accessible to Coloradans, while improving the practice environment for physicians. Reforms to the delivery and payment system go hand-in-hand. Our work under this heading includes developing delivery system pilot projects such as accountable care organizations and expanded patient-centered medical homes, administrative simplification, anti-trust relief for physicians, and input into the state-based insurance exchange being developed under the federal health reform law.

Managed care
Standardization and transparency are essential to physicians when dealing with health plans. CMS takes pride in reaching out to the plans to address issues outside the legislature – but when legislative redress is needed, we pursue it. The list of accomplishments above highlights some of our signal achievements in leveling the playing field between physicians and plans.

Medicaid 
Adequate Medicaid funding is a continual challenge, especially in tight budget times like Colorado has experienced in recent years. We educate lawmakers about the importance of ensuring that Medicaid providers are reimbursed at a level that will keep them in the program. The CMS/Special Medicaid Task Force has worked with the Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy and Financing for more than four years to develop and implement new models for coordinating and delivering care to participants in Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus.

Scope of practice 
Non-physician health care providers are important members of the health care team, and our members work side-by-side with advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and other related professionals every day. While advocating for policies to expand the supply of all health care providers in our state, we also remind policymakers that no other health care professional receives the kind of extensive education and hands-on clinical training that physicians do. It is appropriate, then, to distinguish different roles, responsibilities and titles for each member of the health care team.

Public Health
From childhood vaccinations to disaster preparedness to needle exchange programs, CMS educates policymakers about the multifaceted picture of public health in our state, and advocates for appropriate laws and funding to ensure our public health system functions smoothly.

CMS’ federal policy priorities

CMS works closely with AMA’s lobby staff on strategy and outreach around key issues.

Medicare payment reform
All physicians know that the Medicare funding formula is fatally flawed and needs to be reinvented. We work tirelessly with our members to engage Colorado’s congressional delegation on this critical issue.

Federal health care reform 
During the months of negotiations on the federal health reform bill, CMS’ leadership and lobby staff traveled to Washington numerous times to educate our congressional delegation about our priorities for reform. We highlighted the federal proposals that meshed with our policy and those that conflicted, while also pointing out gaps in the federal bill (e.g., significant medical liability reform and changes to the Medicare payment system). As implementation of the federal bill continues in the coming years, we will continue to advocate for refinements that will benefit Colorado’s physicians and their patients.