The perinatal period (i.e. pregnancy and one year postpartum) is a critical juncture for the individual and population level health of our communities. Colorado, and the U.S. more broadly, is coming up unacceptably short when it comes to equitable access to care and health outcomes for birthing people of color and their children. In order to address the systemic failings driving increased mortality rates for Black and Indigenous birthing people and their infants in Colorado, we supported our members and community partners in creating the Maternal Mortality Review Commission (HB19-1122) and passing the Birth Equity Bill package (SB21-193 and SB21-194). We continue to participate in coalition work to ensure the successful implementation of these bills and advance additional community-driven solutions to improve perinatal health equity.

• People of Color in Colorado, especially Black, Native American, and Chicanx/Latinx Coloradans, are more likely to earn lower incomes, be impoverished, and be uninsured or underinsured. We believe that robust consumer protections are a powerful tool to help balance the scales and make health care fairer for all Coloradans, especially Coloradans of Color, who have been intentionally shut out of financial stability and equity for decades, if not centuries. 
• CCHI has taken action to address medical debt collection practices by helping to pass HB21-1198, which requires health care facilities to screen all uninsured patients for eligibility for public health insurance programs and discounted care, prevents health care facilities from charging monthly bills that are more than 4% of a patient’s monthly household income, and requires that a medical bill be considered paid in full after 36 months of consistent payments. HB21-1198 also requires that health care facilities provide accessible information to all patients and the public about patients’ rights and how to get discounted care at their facility.
• Recent legislation CCHI has supported to tackle debt collection practices in general includes SB20-211, which created emergency protections designed to prevent creditors from garnishing a person’s wages or seizing their property and assets during the COVID-19 disaster emergency, and also protected up to $4,000 held in any account from any seizure. These protections were extended until June 1, 2021 with SB21-002.

• Housing Justice is Health Justice. We believe that access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is essential to a healthy life. We also know that Coloradans of Color, especially Black, Native American, and Chicanx/Latinx Coloradans, are less likely to own a home and more likely to be renters, and that Coloradans of Color are more likely to be at risk of eviction due to their rent burden and the structural, intentionally-imposed inequality that Coloradans of Color face.
• In 2020, CCHI supported HB20-1332, which makes discrimination based on source of income an illegal housing practice. With HB20-1332, landlords are prohibited from refusing to rent or lease, refusing to provide a showing, and refusing to make an offer to rent or lease to someone on the basis of their source of income. Landlords are also prohibited from changing the terms and conditions of a rental agreement based on a person’s source of income.
• In 2021, CCHI supported SB21-173, which creates sweeping protections for renters by capping the maximum amount for late fees at $50 or 5% of the past due rent amount, prohibiting evictions for not paying late fees, and prohibiting late fees from being charged more than once for the same missed payment, including many other protections. SB21-173 also establishes court procedures and rights that protect tenants, and help level the playing field if a landlord takes them to court.

Healthcare is a human right. We are committed to expanding healthcare access to all Coloradans, regardless of immigration status. Recent legislation to improve healthcare accessibility included the passage of SB21-199 and SB21-018 which removed administrative barriers for undocumented Coloradans to ensure access to existing public benefits and free ID cards. Access to care was expanded through SB21-009, which established a program to provide contraceptives to undocumented folks and increases contraceptive accessibility for Medicaid beneficiaries. SB21-087 outlines long overdue agricultural worker protections by setting standards for health, safety, and collective bargaining rights. We will continue to support policies that create more robust social safety nets for all Coloradans.

Oral health is a fundamental component of overall well-being, with increasing evidence of how oral health links to overall physical and mental health. While Colorado has seen the percentage of Coloradans with dental insurance increase, there are consistent access and affordability challenges, particularly for BIPOC communities. CCHI is working with partners at the community level to create an oral health equity policy agenda that is directly informed by the communities facing the biggest barriers. We are also working to survey Coloradans about their oral health experiences to direct this work.