Summary#

Senate Bill 26-191, “Gifts Grants & Donations for Nursing Facilities,” adds a new section to Colorado law. It directs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to use certain gifts, grants, and donations to develop and fund an enhanced reimbursement model for nursing facilities serving residents with behavioral health needs. The stated goal is to support that model.

• The department must use money received for that specific purpose to support the model’s development and funding.
• The department’s executive director must report to the Joint Budget Committee on the use of those funds if the committee requests a report.
• Gifts, grants, and donations under this law do not commit the state to spend General Fund money.
• The General Assembly must not reduce the department’s appropriation for the same purpose because it received those gifts, grants, or donations.

What it means for you#

• Department of Health Care Policy and Financing: If its executive director receives gifts, grants, or donations for the stated purpose, the department must use them for that purpose.
• Nursing facilities and residents with behavioral health needs: The bill provides a way to fund development of an enhanced reimbursement model, but does not itself set reimbursement rates or guarantee that a facility or resident will receive a particular payment or service.
• Joint Budget Committee: It can request a report on how the funds were used.
• Taxpayers: The bill does not require General Fund spending. It also bars reducing the department’s appropriation for the same purpose because these donations were received.
• Effective date: The bill’s text sets August 12, 2026, as the expected start date if the General Assembly adjourned on May 13, 2026. A referendum petition could delay it pending a vote. The supplied material does not say whether a petition was filed.

Money#

No cost estimate or amount of expected gifts, grants, or donations is provided in the available material.

• The department must use qualifying funds for the model’s development and funding if it receives them.
• The bill does not appropriate a specific amount or require General Fund spending.
• The bill does not give a staffing estimate or say what the model will cost.

What is unclear#

• The bill does not describe the reimbursement model, its rates, or how facilities would qualify. No publicly available information.
• The supplied text does not define “behavioral health needs.” It also does not establish how facilities or residents would be identified or involved. No publicly available information.
• It does not require the department to seek donations or set a deadline for creating the model.
• Reports are required only if the Joint Budget Committee requests them; the bill does not set a regular reporting schedule.
• The supplied material does not include surrounding current law, so it is not possible to verify what reimbursement arrangements or related duties already exist.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that it gives the department a dedicated way to use outside funds to develop and fund enhanced reimbursement for facilities serving residents with behavioral health needs.
• The rule against reducing the department’s appropriation because it receives donations may help keep those donations from replacing existing state funding for the same purpose.
• Reporting to the Joint Budget Committee when requested gives the committee a way to ask how the money was used.

Case against#

• The bill does not guarantee that any gifts, grants, or donations will be received, so the model’s development and funding may depend on whether funds become available.
• It leaves key details—such as the model’s design, facility eligibility, and payment levels—to be worked out elsewhere.
• Reporting is required only on request, and the bill does not set other oversight or public reporting requirements.