August 18, 2025 04:21 PM UTC

Top Colo GOP Legislator: Roll Back State's Obamacare Medicaid Expansion

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• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

The top Republican in the Colorado House says she wants to roll back Medicaid to its pre-Obamacare levels, a move that would kick approximately 367,000 Coloradans off their healthcare.

During a July 31 interview on KNUS’ Jeff and Bill radio show, Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese repeatedly blamed Democrats’ special programs — as opposed to congressional Republicans’ new budget bill — for the billion-dollar funding gap that prompted Gov. Jared Polis to call legislators back for a special session.

KNUS Host Billy Thorpe asked Pugliese to name the programs she would eliminate, and she offered three health insurance cuts: ending a program for undocumented residents, rolling back Colorado’s Medicaid expansion, and supporting the work requirements and eligibility checks.

TRANSCRIPT:

Host Thorpe: “What programs would we end up losing? Would it necessarily be a negative to the voters of Colorado? “

Pugliese: “So I’d have to get you an actual list, but I do think we can look at some of the programs. We have, for example, the OmniSalud program. That program is a health insurance program that basically gives free health insurance to people who don’t otherwise qualify. We’ve talked about this — undocumented people who are here in our state, they have access to free health insurance through that program. I think we need to take a hard look at making sure that money goes to Coloradans who need it.

“We expanded — Colorado expanded Medicaid — and I think that expansion needs to be rolled back. I think it’s fine that able-bodied people be actually working and that we’re asking those questions and making sure that the people who say that they’re eligible for Medicaid, that they get evaluated to be sure that they are, the money is going to the people who truly need it.” 

Reached for comment, Marc Williams, spokesperson for the state’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), noted that Medicaid is not on the special session agenda. “If her goal is to save general fund dollars, there are no general fund dollars that go towards the Medicaid expansion program. It’s paid for by the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE), also known as the hospital provider fee, as well as federal funds.”

The OmniSalud program offers state-subsidized health insurance for undocumented Coloradans, with approximately 13,000 people enrolled this year.

Reached via email, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Deputy Director Adam Fox described the scope of the House Minority Leader’s hoped-for Medicaid rollback.

“Rolling back Medicaid expansion equates to terminating coverage for 367,000 low-income Coloradans, including more than 63,000 El Paso County residents,” said Fox. “The cuts in the big ugly bill are devastating, but completely rolling back Medicaid expansion would be a whole different level and would put most hospitals and providers at extreme risk of closure (or extremely reduced services).”

In Denver and elsewhere along the Front Range, some of those services are provided by the Colorado Coalition for Homeless. Chief Communications & Public Policy Officer Cathy Alderman also expressed concern at Pugliese’s proposal.

“Medicaid expansion was a lifeline for lower-income households and people experiencing homelessness who often work non-traditional jobs that rarely provide health insurance,” says Alderman. “Expanding coverage for these households allowed the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to provide more critical healthcare services through the Stout Street Health Center (SSHC) and associated clinics, including street medicine efforts, which has undoubtedly kept folks out of the emergency room and other costly emergency services.

“Rolling back health insurance coverage for low-income individuals will not only wreak havoc on the health and safety of those individuals who depend on it for preventative and regular healthcare, but it will also severely impact the ability of community health centers like SSHC to provide the critical healthcare services needed in the community because uncompensated care costs will significantly increase.  Any attempt to eliminate Medicaid expansion coverage is short-sighted and will ultimately increase healthcare costs to the community while risking the health and safety of many of our most marginalized neighbors.”

Health care providers in rural areas of the state are at even greater risk from cuts to Medicaid. InKevin Stansbury, CEO of Lincoln Community Hospital in Hugo, on the Eastern Plains, warned of the potential damage in a New York Times op-ed published in May, and described the Medicaid expansion Pugliese wants to rollback as a “lifeline” for his hospital:

“Cuts to Medicaid could hurt the finances of hospitals across the country, but rural hospitals will be particularly affected. This is because rural patients are more likely to have health coverage from the government than from commercial insurers. (Nearly three-quarters of our revenue, for example, is from Medicaid and Medicare.) … roughly half of my state’s rural hospitals are operating in the red. Yet we’re relatively lucky: Colorado’s decision to expand Medicaid in 2014 has been a lifeline for us because it reduces the number of patients we see who can’t pay.”

Pugliese did not respond to an email request for comment on a timeline for her proposed rollback and any concerns she might have for the tens of thousands of El Paso County residents who would lose their health coverage. This article will be updated with any response received.