Colo. legislature close to final consideration of health exchange bill

Health Policy Solutions (Colorado news service): 'Amycare?' 'Bettycare?' Colorado's Health Exchange Headed For Final Passage
Colorado's health insurance exchange bill is sailing toward final approval with backers hailing the measure as the only successful bipartisan exchange legislation in the country. ... An unprecedented bipartisan coalition of business advocates, health industry leaders and consumer representatives showed up in droves at the Capitol on Tuesday to support SB 11-200. Many insisted that Colorado needs a Colorado solution and warned that if the legislature does not create its own health exchange, the federal government will impose an exchange on Colorado, as required by 2014 under the Affordable Care Act (Kerwin McCrimmon, 5/4).

Health Policy Solutions (Colorado news service): Red-State Utah's Health Exchange Model For Colorado
Two states — Utah and Massachusetts — are attracting attention from other states scrambling to establish their own health exchanges, which are mandated by the Affordable Care Act. They are the two states ahead of the curve, each one operating its own version of a health exchange. The approaches are very different by design ... Massachusetts' exchange has a more regulatory approach than Utah's (Collins, 5/4).

KHN earlier, related coverage: Debunking The Mythology: The Utah And Massachusetts Health Exchanges — Guest Column (Sabrina Corlette, 4/6).

In the background, news outlets continue to report on this week's House vote to block funding for state health insurance exchanges.

PBS Newshour: House Votes To Cut Funding For State Health Insurance Exchanges
House Republicans (in Congress) advanced their latest bill to dismantle the new health care law, with a Tuesday night vote to defund state health insurance exchanges. And while it's unlikely to pass the Senate any time soon, it's part of a larger ongoing effort by Republicans to demonstrate to voters they are committed to fighting the year-old reform law (Clune, 5/4).