June 6, 2011
The Colorado state legislature completed its regular session on May 11 this year. As always, the CDA worked hard on your behalf at the statehouse. This year, the CDA monitored more than 40 bills with direct and indirect impacts on the dental profession.
The session concluded with partisan antics amid persisting controversy over budget and redistricting. There were a number of bills introduced and still pending in the final days of the session, including a few bills with dental impacts. We are pleased to report that a bill reauthorizing Colorado’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), which offers providers valuable information to assist in decisions to prescribe controlled substances, passed in the final days of the session. We will be sharing more information about this valuable program in an upcoming article.
As you know, the CDA elected not to introduce a bill on the “non-covered services” insurance issue this year. The CDA remains committed to resolving this issue in years to come. A vital component of our ultimate success on this issue is your continued outreach and relationships with local legislators. It’s critical that you thank your legislator for his/her past support on this issue, if they were a co-sponsor of the bill. If you have not yet thanked your legislator, be sure to do so today at cdaonline.org/ActNow.
At this point, Gov. Hickenlooper has until June 10 to sign bills passed by the state legislature. Any bill not signed by June 10 is considered vetoed. The CDA will publish a complete legislative wrap-up article once this date has passed.
