With the 2026 legislative session starting in just a few days, I’ve been making the most of my time with my family before heading off to Denver. I’ve also had a series of meetings with constituents, including a joint meeting with Sen. Cleave Simpson and all of Southwest Colorado’s county commissioners last week.
We had productive conversations about county finances and revenue, the impacts of FEMA funding denials in Southwest Colorado, and how the Statehouse can best partner with counties to ensure Coloradans have the tools they need to lead the lives they deserve. My days have also been full of meetings with the House’s bill drafters to ready my legislative proposals for introduction. You can find a rundown of my top bills in last month’s column, and I’ll continue to give updates as they move through the legislative process.
Addressing federal policy changes
However, much of this legislative session will be devoted to addressing the federal cuts and policy changes in H.R. 1, which Congress passed this summer. While I understand that the federal government’s new work requirements for Medicaid sound productive to many, the paperwork required to verify and process employment takes an enormous amount of time and manpower, and the administration is not providing Colorado with any help in implementing these systems.
States like Georgia, which have tried similar requirements, have incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in additional administrative overhead and have seen no increase in employment among the target populations, as the vast majority of Medicaid patients already work. Because administrators were overwhelmed, delays and mistakes skyrocketed, and thousands of working people lost coverage they were qualified for.
Colorado is one of only a few states that leave Medicaid management at the county level rather than centralizing it. Counties are already struggling with caseloads and staffing funding, which has created long delays and disrupted coverage. The federal government’s new work requirements are set to cost Colorado $7 billion over the next seven years. We are working with local counties to prepare for a more than doubling of workload next year, but without federal assistance, there’s no clear road forward.
Supporting rural health care
Additionally, I am coordinating with local hospitals to improve Colorado Health Care Policy and Financing’s plan for allocating federal grant funds to rural hospitals. We are working to increase rural and tribal participation in the process, so that our community hospitals get the funding they desperately need.
Water rights and infrastructure
I also wanted to express my disappointment about President Donald Trump’s recent veto of funding extensions for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. This bill was carried by a bipartisan group of Colorado’s members of Congress, including Rep. Jeff Hurd, and had broad support. The conduit project, already underway, has been promised to residents for decades and would supply clean drinking water to more than 50,000 people in the southeastern plains. The president’s veto will place more financial stress on local governments and endangers jobs.
I cannot overstate the importance of the federal government’s promises and obligations regarding water projects. This session, I will introduce a resolution, in coordination with the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian tribes, calling on the federal government to honor its obligation to fulfill the tribes’ water rights in Lake Nighthorse. As we face drier years, actual access to their water is essential.
As always, please never hesitate to reach out to my office. I’m excited to represent Southwest Colorado for another session at the State Capitol, and hearing from constituents always helps me do my job better.
Katie Stewart represents House District 59 in the Colorado State House, which encompasses Archuleta, La Plata and San Juan counties and most of Montezuma County. Reach her at katie.stewart.house@coleg.gov.
