JOINT RELEASE: SIGNED! Bipartisan Bill to Bolster Colorado’s Behavioral Health Care Workforce

Legislation invests $72 million to help more Coloradans access critical care they need

DENVER, CO - Governor Jared Polis today signed into law a bipartisan bill that will help bolster Colorado’s critical behavioral health care workforce. 

SB22-181, championed by Senators Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, and Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and Representatives Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, and Tonya Van Beber, R-Weld County, directs the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) to develop and implement a workforce plan to invest $72 million to bolster, diversify, and stabilize the state’s behavioral health care workforce. 

“If we want to achieve our goal of transforming Colorado’s behavioral health system, then we need a robust workforce to help us do it,” said Bridges. “This new law is a significant investment that will expand our behavioral health workforce and allow us to address our workforce shortage, better meet the needs of patients, and improve patient outcomes.”

“This year, we worked to address the most pressing issues in our community. In Colorado, too many people are struggling to access or pay for the behavioral health care they need to thrive,” said Cutter. “The legislation Governor Polis signed today is part of the total $450 million investment of federal funds to help us meet this challenge by boosting our health care workforce and recruiting and retaining the providers Colorado needs. The law will save providers money as they pursue their education and go through the credentialing process and create new pathways for people entering mental health professions.”