Colorado § 25.5-3-501 - Definitions.

§ 25.5-3-501. Definitions.

As used in this part 5, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Health-care facility" means:

(a) A hospital licensed as a general hospital pursuant to part 1 of article 3 of title 25;

(b) A hospital established pursuant to section 23-21-503 or 25-29-103;

(c) Any freestanding emergency department licensed pursuant to section 25-1.5-114;

(d) Any outpatient health-care facility that is licensed as an on-campus department or service of a hospital or that is listed as an off-campus location under a hospital's license, except:

(I) A federally qualified health center, as defined in the federal "Social Security Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1395x (aa)(4); or

(II) A student-learning medical and dental clinic that is established for the purpose of student learning and offering discounted patient care as part of a program of student learning and is physically situated within a health sciences school; or

(e) A critical access hospital as defined in section 25-1.5-114.5.

(2) "Health-care services" has the same meaning as set forth in section 10-16-102 (33).

(2.5) "Inpatient hospital service" has the same meaning as set forth in 42 CFR 440.10.

(3) "Licensed health-care professional" means any health-care professional who is registered, certified, or licensed pursuant to title 12 or who provides services under the supervision of a health-care professional who is registered, certified, or licensed pursuant to title 12, and who provides health-care services in a health-care facility.

(4) Repealed.

(4.5) "Outpatient hospital service" has the same meaning as set forth in 42 CFR 440.20.

(5) "Qualified patient" means an individual who attests to residing in Colorado whose household income is not more than two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level and who received an inpatient hospital service or outpatient hospital service at a health-care facility.

(6) "Screen" or "screening" means a process described in section 25.5-3-502 whereby health-care facilities assess a patient's circumstances related to eligibility criteria and determine whether the patient has qualified or is likely to qualify for public health-care coverage or discounted care and, at the option of the health-care facility, is eligible or is likely eligible for the health-care facility's financial assistance program; inform the patient of the health-care facility's determination; and provide information to the patient about how the patient can enroll in public health-care coverage or the health-care facility's financial assistance program.

(6.7) "Uniform application" or "application" means a uniform form that is developed by the state department to determine whether a patient is a qualified patient and is completed following a screening or when required by section 25.5-3-502.5.

(7) "Uninsured" means an uninsured individual, as defined in section 10-22-113 (5)(d).

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (HB 21-1198), ch. 435, p. 2874, § 1, effective September 7. L. 2024: (2.5) and (4.5) added, (4) repealed, and (5) amended, (SB 24-116), ch. 300, p. 2040, § 1, effective August 7; (4) repealed, (HB 24-1399), ch. 76, p. 257, § 24, effective July 1, 2025; (1)(c) and (1)(d)(II) amended and (1)(e) added, (SB 24-121), ch. 439, p. 3067, § 5, effective July 1, 2026. L. 2026: (6) amended and (6.7) added, (SB 26-138), ch. 308, p. 1764, § 6, effective August 12.

Editor's note: Subsection (4) was repealed in HB 24-1399, effective July 1, 2025. Those amendments were superseded by the repeal of subsection (4) in SB 24-116, effective August 7, 2024.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 26-138, see section 1 of chapter 308, Session Laws of Colorado 2026.