SENIORS
Colorado Democrats worked hard this year to assist seniors and help aging Coloradans live independent, meaningful, and dignified lives. The bills passed this year support aging Coloradans by providing resources to ensure they have access to medical care, housing assistance, and more.
Increasing Safety In Assisted Living Residences | SB22-154
Danielson / McCormick & Young
This bill makes several changes regarding the oversight of assisted living residences, including adding protections for residents around the involuntary discharge process, tasking the State Board of Health with establishing a minimum standard for assisted living residence administrators, and lifting the low cap on the fines that can be levied against an assisted living residence for violations.
Dementia Training Requirements CDPHE DHCPF Rules | SB22-079
Kolker & Ginal / Young & Froelich
This bill requires the Colorado Department of Health & Environment and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing to adopt rules requiring nursing care facilities, assisted living residences, and adult day care facilities to provide dementia training for staff providing direct care to residents and clients.
Security For Colorado Seniors | SB22-185
Danielson & Buckner / Lindsay & Young
This bill expands and continues an existing grant program in the Colorado Department of Human Services to support projects that promote the health, equity, and well-being of older Coloradans and that are consistent with the recommendations of the strategic action plan on aging.
Supporting Recovery Programs Persons Who Wander | SB22-187
Danielson / Cutter & Lindsay
This bill expands and renames the Recovery Programs for Persons Who Wander and makes several changes, including allowing municipalities and counties to apply for grants, removing the award limits, and expanding eligible uses of the grant program. It also tasks the Colorado Bureau of Investigation with creating and maintaining a public website with information on recovery programs for families of persons who wander. A recovery program is a program in which a participant—an individual with a medical condition such as Alzheimer’s disease that may cause them to wander— has a device that can be used to help electronically locate that person.
Program Of All-inclusive Care For The Elderly | SB22-203
Fields & Smallwood / Lontine & Soper
This bill tasks the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment with developing a plan to provide formal oversight of the PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) program, and with establishing and enforcing minimum standards and rules for this program.
Health Facility Visitation During Pandemic | SB22-053
Sonnenberg / McLachlan & Geitner
This bill requires that a patient in a healthcare facility (hospital, nursing home, or assisted living residence) may have at least one visitor during their stay/residency. It requires health care facilities to have written policies and procedures regarding visitation rights.
Modernization Of The Older Coloradans' Act | HB22-1035
Ginal & Rankin / Young & Bradfield
This bill makes several changes to update the Colorado Commission on Aging and the
responsibilities of state agencies involved in implementing the Older Coloradans' Act. It also creates the Lifelong Colorado Initiative to help support and coordinate local, regional, and state programs to assist older Coloradans live independent, meaningful, and dignified lives.
Telehealth For Hearing Aid Providers | HB22-1076
Buckner / Lontine & Will
This bill allows hearing aid providers to prescribe, select, and fit hearing aids through telehealth. Currently the initial testing or first fitting must be done in person.
Senior Housing Income Tax Credit | HB22-1205
Coleman & Hansen / Weissman & Kennedy
This bill creates a refundable, means-tested income tax credit for income tax year 2022 available to Colorado taxpayers who are at least 65 years old as of the end of the tax year, whose adjusted gross income falls below $75,000, and who have not claimed a homestead property tax exemption for the 2022 property tax year.
Updates to Employment Discrimination Laws | HB22-1367
Winter & Pettersen / Lontine & Gray
In addition to other changes, this bill repeals the prohibition against relief and recovery of certain damages in age discrimination cases so that remedies are consistent regardless of the type of discrimination.