Latest news with #LisaCutter
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prescription drug donations would help uninsured patients under new Colorado law
State Sen. Lisa Cutter speaks in April during a bill signing at the Colorado Capitol. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) A new Colorado law will let people donate their unused and unopened prescription drugs so that other patients can access them for free or a minimal cost. Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 25-289 into law on Wednesday, which establishes the state's drug donation program. 'Every year, the United States spends billions to dispose of unused prescription medicines from nursing homes, assisted living residences, hospices, and jails,' bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Jefferson County Democrat, said in a statement. 'Additionally, many left-over prescriptions are flushed down the toilet or thrown into the trash, which causes immeasurable harm to our environment and water supply. With this new law, we are creating a program to reduce waste, protect the environment, and help Coloradans access the medication they need.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill was also sponsored by Rep. Kyle Brown, a Louisville Democrat, and Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat. It passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The program relies on the work from a task force on the issue created in 2022. Colorado technically already allows for re-dispensing of medication under limited circumstances, but there isn't an easy mechanism for patients to access those drugs. There is one program in the state, at a clinic in Colorado Springs, that accepts donated medications from nursing homes. Under the new law, individuals and institutions such as long-term care facilities, nursing homes and prisons will be able to more easily donate medicine to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. That medicine would then be used to fill prescriptions for low-income and uninsured patients. In 2021, about 10% of Coloradans did not fill a prescription because of cost, according to a report from the Colorado Health Institute. The program won't allow for the donation of opioids, scheduled medications and medicines that require special storage conditions unless the recipient can ensure correct storage. The recipient of the donated drugs will be required to keep records of donations, keep the donated drugs separate from regular stock and have a licensed pharmacist inspect the donation. Forty-five states have drug repository programs in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, though the program scopes vary. Georgia's program, for example, has filled over 981,000 prescriptions worth more than $78 million over eight years. Wyoming's program has existed since 2007 and has helped about 29,000 patients. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers look to pass funding for first responders in final days of regular session
DENVER (KDVR) — The clock is ticking at the Colorado Capitol as state lawmakers look to close loose ends before the regular session ends on Wednesday. Before they leave, they are trying to make sure first responders get some funding. State lawmakers are moving forward with two measures they have been working to fund since the start of the session. DOJ sues Colorado, Denver for so-called 'sanctuary laws' 'While I'm really happy about this piece, and I'm excited to be sponsoring this bill, I know there is still a lot of work to do,' said State Senator Lisa Cutter, relieved lawmakers were able to reach a compromise on a bill that initially was slated to help boost the state's wildfire workforce amid uncertainty surrounding cuts from the federal government and a loss of revenue for districts following property tax reform at the state level last year. 'When we knew this other bill wasn't going to make it, we were able to pivot and include this. We wanted to do some other things, quite frankly, this year to address the funding. An enterprise and some other things were kicked around, and it just didn't come to fruition. We didn't have enough time to really fully build those out. So this was a great solution so again, I'm really grateful we were able to do this, and we'll bring more,' Cutter said. The compromise will ultimately allow fire districts to apply for a revolving, interest-free loan fund from the State Treasurer's Office. $50 million worth of funding will be available for districts that apply for it. Lawmakers also had to find some funding for law enforcement. 'Proposition 130 was on last year's ballot and it passed. Basically, it set aside $350 million for recruitment, training, retention for local law enforcement officers was part of it. Another part of it was a million-dollar death benefit if someone is killed in the line fo duty, which we thought was a big part of passing it,' said Michael Fields of Advance Colorado. Lawmakers will not be allocating that $350 million all at once. Instead, the state will phase it in at around $35 million per year over 10 years through a bill that implements the passed proposition. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV 'This implementation bill does take too long. It can take 10 years for this money to get out. But voters did vote for it, legislators are coming in and implementing policy to make sure that it does get out the door. I know there's complaints about not only this year's budget, but future budgets coming up. But it's important when people vote for something, when they expect something to happen- that it happens,' Fields said. Both of these bills still need to complete the legislative process by next Wednesday in order to make it to the governor's desk. Lawmakers will be working long and odd hours to get it all done. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
