Committee approves cuts and a cap for CoverAll Colorado over objections from advocates

House Bill 14‑11, described by sponsors as a difficult but necessary set of targeted reductions, passed the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 7 to 3 with 1 member excused. The bill reduces certain benefits, moves some behavioral health services from capitated payments to fee‑for‑service, caps annual dental spending at $750, eliminates specified new long‑term services for non‑existing users (with phase‑in), and installs an enrollment cap mechanism tied to utilization and a 25,000‑enrollee threshold.

Representative Taggart, a primary sponsor, said the measure addresses rapid growth in the program and would reduce annualized spending for the program by roughly 25% compared with prior baselines. Chair Brown and other sponsors said the measure was a last‑resort effort to rein in costs that threaten other core services.

Multiple witnesses urged the committee to reject the bill or to add amendments to mitigate harm. Christopher Nurse of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said HB 14‑11 "would quite literally dismantle the health coverage infrastructure that tens of thousands of Coloradans depend on." Vanessa Martinez of the Colorado organization for Latino opportunity and reproductive rights warned the changes would disproportionately affect Latine immigrant communities who rely on CoverAll for vaccinations, prenatal and postpartum care and other services. Isabel Cruz of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative urged removal of the last‑minute eligibility cap and noted it showed no projected savings while adding implementation complexity and costs.

Sponsors acknowledged the harm but said the state faced a severe budget shortfall and required large, sometimes targeted, reductions to balance the long bill.

Next steps: HB 14‑11 will proceed to the Committee of the Whole. Advocates said they will press for amendments to preserve eligibility and minimize disruptions to children and pregnant people.