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HB26-1019 • 2026

Kidney Screening Mandatory Preventive Coverage

The act adds kidney function screening services as mandated preventive health-care services for which insurance policies or contracts in the state must provide total-cost coverage. Coverage for kidney

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. S. Lieder, Sen. J. Rich, Sen. D. Roberts, Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. M. Carter, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. R. English, Rep. L. García, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. R. Gonzalez, Rep. E. Hamrick, Rep. J. Joseph, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. E. Sirota, Rep. B. Titone, Rep. A. Valdez, Sen. J. Amabile, Sen. M. Ball, Sen. A. Benavidez, Sen. S. Bright, Sen. M. Catlin, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. L. Cutter, Sen. T. Exum, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. N. Hinrichsen, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. B. Kirkmeyer, Sen. C. Kolker, Sen. L. Liston, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. C. Simpson, Sen. M. Snyder, Sen. K. Wallace
Last action
2026-05-26
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text does not specify which high-deductible plans qualify for exemption, only that 'certain' ones do.

HB26-1019: Kidney Screening Mandatory Preventive Coverage

This law requires most health insurance plans in the state to cover kidney function screening services at no cost, with specific start dates and exceptions.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds kidney function screening as a required preventive service that must be covered at total cost by insurance policies or contracts in the state.
  • Requires large employer health benefit policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, to provide this coverage.
  • Requires individual and small group plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2028, to provide this coverage if the state is not required to pay for it.
  • Exempts certain high-deductible health plans from having to provide total-cost coverage for these services.
  • Permits the exclusion of the State Employees Group Benefits Act from this mandate.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Large employer health benefit policies issued or renewed in the state on or after January 1, 2027
  • Individual and small group health plans issued or renewed in the state on or after January 1, 2028, unless the state must pay for the coverage
  • Holders of certain high-deductible plans who may be exempt from total-cost coverage requirements

Terms To Know

Total-cost coverage
The insurance policy pays the full cost of the service so the patient does not pay anything.
Defray
To cover or reduce a financial cost, specifically referring to whether state funds must be used for this coverage.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Coverage for individual and small group plans only applies if the state is not required to defray (pay) the cost.
  • The law does not take effect until January 1, 2027, for large employers and January 1, 2028, for other eligible plans.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.002

HOU Health & Human Services

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment requires health insurance plans in Colorado to cover annual kidney function screening tests without charging patients extra fees, starting with large employers in 2027 and smaller plans in 2028.

  • Insurance policies must now include coverage for specific yearly kidney screenings that check blood filtration rates and urine levels.
  • Large employer health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, are required to provide this free screening coverage.
  • Individual and small group health plans will be required to cover these services starting January 1, 2028, unless federal rules prevent it.
  • The state's standard benefit plan specifications explicitly exclude kidney function screenings so they do not count toward the minimum requirements for that specific program.
  • The text is incomplete at the end of Section 4, so the exact effective date and petition details are missing.
  • Coverage for small plans may be delayed or changed if federal laws require Colorado to pay part of the cost (defrayal).
  • Insurance companies can apply deductibles to these screenings if the U.S. Treasury does not classify them as preventive care.
L.003

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: This amendment would remove a specific part of the committee report that discusses adding kidney screening to mandatory health insurance coverage.

  • It deletes lines 31 through 38 on page 3 of the Health and Human Services Committee Report dated March 11, 2026.
  • The amendment text does not include the actual words being removed from the report.
  • Because the specific content is missing, it cannot be explained exactly which details about kidney screening coverage are being taken out.
L.004

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment changes the law to say that insurance companies are not required to cover kidney screening services, instead of saying they must not provide coverage.

  • The text on page 5 is changed from 'MUST NOT' to 'ARE NOT REQUIRED TO'.
  • This change means insurers do not have a legal obligation to pay for these specific kidney screenings.
  • The amendment only shows the words being swapped and does not explain why this change was made or how it affects patients.
  • Without seeing the full sentence, we cannot be sure if other parts of the rule about coverage remain unchanged.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-26 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-20 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-20 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-05-20 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-05-04 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-04-29 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Laid Over Daily

  7. 2026-04-28 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-04-27 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Floor

  9. 2026-04-10 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Laid Over to 04/27/2026 - No Amendments

  10. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Senate Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole

  11. 2026-03-19 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Health & Human Services

  12. 2026-03-16 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  13. 2026-03-13 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  14. 2026-03-11 House

    House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  15. 2026-01-14 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human Services

Official Summary Text

The act adds kidney function screening services as mandated preventive health-care services for which insurance policies or contracts in the state must provide total-cost coverage. Coverage for kidney function screening services will be implemented for all large employer health benefit policies or contracts issued or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, and coverage will be implemented for all individual and small group health benefit plans issued or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2028, as long as the state is not required to defray the cost of the coverage of the kidney function screening services.
The act permits the exclusion of the 'State Employees Group Benefits Act' from this mandate and exempts certain high deductible plans from having to provide total-cost coverage for such services.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)