(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Medicaid reimbursement rates cover only approximately sixty-five percent of theactual costs incurred by service providers rendering services to medicaid recipients;
Low medicaid reimbursement rates and increased caseloads have caused the costs toshift within the health care delivery system, resulting in higher medical costs for the general population;
The medicaid caseload continues to expand and, therefore, the need for providers toserve these medicaid recipients continues to increase;
Rising health care costs are a primary concern for Colorado citizens and businesses;
It is therefore in the best interest of the state of Colorado to authorize local governments to impose a fee on certain medical providers to assist in financing medicaid costs and the disproportionate share hospital payments for providing medical services to low-income populations.
Source: L. 2006: Entire article added, p. 885, § 1, effective May 5. L. 2008: (1)(e) amended, p. 928, § 2, effective May 20.