MULLICA’S BILL TO BOOST HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE PASSES HOUSE

DENVER, CO – The House today passed a bill, sponsored by Representative Kyle Mullica, that would invest more than $60 million of federal pandemic relief dollars toward boosting Colorado’s health care workforce.

“Boosting our health care workforce will expand access to care and reduce costs, which will save Coloradans money on health care,” said Rep. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton “SB22-226 directs $61 million to help Colorado attract the providers we need to meet the demand for services we’re seeing in our communities. This bill will save consumers money and it will save nursing students and future providers money as they complete their training and get to work serving communities in Colorado.” Boosting the Health Care Workforce: SB22-226 passed the House by a vote of 46 to 19. This bill would address the shortage of health care workers by providing over $60 million to cover the cost of tuition for entry level positions and create in-demand practice-based training programs to encourage more people to enter critical professions in the healthcare field. Additionally, the bill would create a program to improve the well-being and retention of health care workers and expand the School Nurse Grant Program. Training programs require clinical hours at health facilities, currently a major limiting factor in how many students schools can accept. To address this, the bill would also provide funding for health care facilities to increase training slots to build long-term capacity to train new and existing employees. Additionally, the bill would create a program to improve the well-being and retention of health care workers.