A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning measures to reduce the stigma of behavioral
Page 1, Line 102health treatment for medical practitioners.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill requires the following regarding the application for a license to practice medicine in Colorado (application) and the questionnaire accompanying the form for a license renewal (questionnaire):
- The application questions reflect the recommendations of the Federation of State Medical Boards and the requirements of the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990";
- The application and questionnaire do not require the disclosure of personal medical or health information that is not relevant to the applicant's ability at the time of application to provide safe, competent, and ethical patient care; and
- The application and questionnaire do not include questions seeking information about past health-related conditions that do not impact an applicant's ability to practice safe, competent, and ethical patient care at the time of application.
The bill clarifies that an individual subject to the licensing requirements of the "Colorado Medical Practice Act" is not required to disclose a physical illness, physical condition, behavioral health disorder, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder that no longer impacts the individual's ability to practice the applicable health-care profession or occupation with reasonable skill and safety to patients or clients.
Current law requires that if a health-care professional has a physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral or mental health disorder that renders the person unable to practice the applicable health-care profession or occupation with reasonable skill and safety to patients or clients, the licensee, registrant, or certificate holder shall notify the regulator that regulates the person's profession or occupation of the physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral or mental health disorder. The bill requires that a health-care professional must additionally provide notice of a substance use disorder and specifies that the health-care professional is required only to provide notice of a current physical illness, physical condition, behavioral health disorder, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder.
This Unofficial Version Includes Committee
Amendments Not Yet Adopted on Second Reading
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) Physicians and physician assistants experience significantly
Page 2, Line 4higher rates of suicide compared to the general public, with stigma surrounding mental health care as a major contributing factor;
Page 2, Line 5(b) The Physicians Foundation reports that 80% of physicians
Page 2, Line 6believe stigma exists around mental health care, and a substantial
Page 3, Line 1percentage of physicians and physician assistants fear professional repercussions if they seek mental health care;
Page 3, Line 2(c) The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated mental health
Page 3, Line 3challenges among health-care providers, with medical students and
Page 3, Line 4residents experiencing even greater mental health burdens than practicing physicians;
Page 3, Line 5(d) Research by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Page 3, Line 6indicates that mental health receives disproportionately greater scrutiny
Page 3, Line 7compared to physical health in licensure applications, which may deter health-care providers from seeking necessary treatment;
Page 3, Line 8(e) The Federation of State Medical Boards, Federation of State
Page 3, Line 9Physician Health Programs, National Institute for Occupational Safety
Page 3, Line 10and Health, and American Medical Association all support efforts to
Page 3, Line 11remove stigmatizing questions about mental health diagnosis and treatment from medical licensing and credentialing applications;
Page 3, Line 12(f) The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation has identified overly
Page 3, Line 13broad and invasive mental health questions in licensure applications as
Page 3, Line 14stigmatizing, discriminatory, and harmful to physician wellness and patient safety;
Page 3, Line 15(g) A health-care provider's application or renewal questionnaire
Page 3, Line 16should not require the disclosure of personal medical or health
Page 3, Line 17information that is not relevant to the applicant's current ability to provide safe, competent, and ethical patient care;
Page 3, Line 18(h) A health-care licensing application should not include
Page 3, Line 19questions seeking information about past health-related conditions that no
Page 3, Line 20longer impact a licensee's ability to practice safe, competent, and ethical
Page 3, Line 21patient care;
Page 4, Line 1(i) Medical students and residents report that stigma and fear of
Page 4, Line 2disclosing treatment to a future employer or licensure body are prime reasons that they do not seek mental health care;
Page 4, Line 3(j) At least 29 states have revised their licensure application language to align with best practices;
Page 4, Line 4(k) More than 450 hospitals and health systems have revised their credentialing language to align with best practices; and
Page 4, Line 5(l) The state of Colorado has an opportunity to reduce stigma and
Page 4, Line 6encourage health-care providers to seek care by modernizing its licensure and credentialing applications.
Page 4, Line 7(2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that it is in the best
Page 4, Line 8interest of the people of Colorado to modernize the language in medical
Page 4, Line 9licensure and credentialing applications to support the well-being and safety of health-care providers and the public.
Page 4, Line 10SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 12-240-115 as follows:
Page 4, Line 1112-240-115. Applications for license. (1) Every person desiring
Page 4, Line 12a license to practice medicine shall make application to the board, the
Page 4, Line 13application to be verified by oath and to be in the form prescribed by the
Page 4, Line 14board. The application shall be accompanied by the license fee and the
Page 4, Line 15documents, affidavits, and certificates necessary to establish that the
Page 4, Line 16applicant possesses the qualifications prescribed by this article 240, apart
Page 4, Line 17from any required examination by the board. The burden of proof shall be
Page 4, Line 18upon the applicant, but the board may make such independent
Page 4, Line 19investigation as it may deem advisable to determine whether the applicant
Page 4, Line 20possesses the qualifications and whether the applicant has at any time
Page 4, Line 21committed any of the acts or offenses defined in this article 240 as unprofessional conduct.
Page 5, Line 1(2) The board shallconsider the recommendations of the
Page 5, Line 2Federation of State Medical Boards, or its successor
Page 5, Line 3organization, and the requirements of the federal "Americans
Page 5, Line 4with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., when developing the application questions.
Page 5, Line 5(3) The application must not require the disclosure of
Page 5, Line 6personal medical or health information that is not relevant to
Page 5, Line 7the applicant's ability at the time of application to provide safe, competent, and ethical patient care.
Page 5, Line 8(4) The application must not include questions seeking
Page 5, Line 9information about past health-related conditionslisted in
Page 5, Line 10section 12-30-108 (1)(a) that do not impact an applicant's ability
Page 5, Line 11to practice safe, competent, and ethical patient care at the time of application.
Page 5, Line 12(5) The board shall provide information in the application
Page 5, Line 13about the board's peer health assistance program, the
Page 5, Line 14applicant's ability to self-refer to the peer health assistance
Page 5, Line 15program at any time, and the applicant's ability to self-refer in lieu of disclosure to the board.
Page 5, Line 16SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 12-30-108, amend(1), (2)(a), and (4)(a)(I)(E); repeal (4)(a)(II); and add (5) as follows:
Page 5, Line 1712-30-108. Confidential agreement to limit practice - violation
Page 5, Line 18grounds for discipline - definition. (1) (a) If a licensee, registrant, or
Page 5, Line 19certificate holder has a current physical illness, physical condition,
orPage 5, Line 20behavioral
orPage 5, Line 21use disorder that renders the person unable to practice the applicable
Page 6, Line 1health-care profession or occupation with reasonable skill and safety to
Page 6, Line 2patients or clients, the licensee, registrant, or certificate holder shall notify
Page 6, Line 3the regulator that regulates the person's profession or occupation of the
Page 6, Line 4physical illness, physical condition,
ororPage 6, Line 5mental health disorder, or substance use disorder in a manner and within a period determined by the regulator.
Page 6, Line 6(b) The regulator may require the licensee, registrant, or certificate
Page 6, Line 7holder to submit to an examination or refer the licensee, registrant, or
Page 6, Line 8certificate holder to a peer health assistance program, if one exists, to
Page 6, Line 9evaluate the extent of the current physical illness, physical condition,
Page 6, Line 10
ororPage 6, Line 11substance use disorder and its effect on the licensee's, registrant's, or
Page 6, Line 12certificate holder's ability to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients or clients.
Page 6, Line 13(c) This section does not require the disclosure of a
Page 6, Line 14physical illness, physical condition, behavioral health disorder,
Page 6, Line 15mental health disorder, or substance use disorder that no
Page 6, Line 16longer impacts a licensee's, registrant's, or certificate holder's
Page 6, Line 17ability to practice the applicable health-care profession or
Page 6, Line 18occupation with reasonable skill and safety to patients or
Page 6, Line 19clients, as determined by a peer health assistance program designated as a provider by the board.
Page 6, Line 20(2) (a) Upon determining that a licensee, registrant, or certificate
Page 6, Line 21holder with a current physical illness, physical condition,
orPage 6, Line 22
orPage 6, Line 23disorder is able to render limited services with reasonable skill and
Page 6, Line 24safety to patients or clients, the regulator may enter into a confidential
Page 7, Line 1agreement with the licensee, registrant, or certificate holder in which the
Page 7, Line 2licensee, registrant, or certificate holder agrees to limit the person's
Page 7, Line 3practice based on the restrictions imposed by the physical illness, physical
Page 7, Line 4condition,
ororPage 7, Line 5(4) (a) This section does not apply to:
(I) The following health-care professionals:
Page 7, Line 6(E) Nursing home administrators regulated pursuant to article 265 of this title 12.
orPage 7, Line 7(II)
A licensee, registrant, or certificate holder subject toPage 7, Line 8
discipline for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol beverages, aPage 7, Line 9
habit-forming drug, or a controlled substance as defined in section 18-18-102 (5).Page 7, Line 10(5) As used in this section, "current" means recently
Page 7, Line 11enough to justify a reasonable belief that a health-related
Page 7, Line 12condition may have an ongoing impact on an individual's ability
Page 7, Line 13to practice medicine. "Current" is not limited to the day of, or a
Page 7, Line 14specified time period, but refers to conduct that has occurred
Page 7, Line 15recently enough to indicate the individual is actively engaged in the conduct.
Page 7, Line 16SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 12-240-130, add (2)(c) and (2)(d) as follows:
Page 7, Line 1712-240-130. Renewal, reinstatement, reactivation -
Page 7, Line 18delinquency - fees - questionnaire. (2) (c) The questionnaire must
Page 7, Line 19not require the disclosure of personal medical or health
Page 7, Line 20information that is not relevant to the licensee's ability at the
Page 7, Line 21time of renewal to provide safe, competent, and ethical patient
Page 8, Line 1care, as determined by a peer health assistance program designated as a provider by the board.
Page 8, Line 2(d) The questionnaire must not include questions seeking
Page 8, Line 3information about past health-related conditions listed in
Page 8, Line 4section 12-30-108 (1)(a) that do not impact a licensee's ability to
Page 8, Line 5practice safe, competent, and ethical patient care at the time of renewal.
Page 8, Line 6SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 12-240-121, amend (1)(e) and (1)(i) as follows:
Page 8, Line 712-240-121. Unprofessional conduct - definitions. (1) "Unprofessional conduct" as used in this article 240 means:
Page 8, Line 8(e)
Habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol, a habit-formingPage 8, Line 9
drugPage 8, Line 10or a controlled substance as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), which
Page 8, Line 11results in the inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety;
Page 8, Line 12(i) Failing to notify the board, as required by section 12-30-108
Page 8, Line 13(1), of a current physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral,
Page 8, Line 14mental health, or substance use disorder that impairs the licensee's
Page 8, Line 15judgment or impacts the licensee's ability to perform a medical service
Page 8, Line 16with reasonable skill and safety to patients; failing to act within the
Page 8, Line 17limitations created by a current physical illness, physical condition, or
Page 8, Line 18behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that renders the
Page 8, Line 19licensee unable to perform a medical service with reasonable skill and
Page 8, Line 20safety to the patient; or failing to comply with the limitations agreed to
Page 8, Line 21under a confidential agreement entered into pursuant to sections
Page 8, Line 2212-30-108 and 12-240-126. This subsection (1)(i) does not require
Page 9, Line 1the disclosure of a physical illness, physical condition, or
Page 9, Line 2behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that no
Page 9, Line 3longer impairs the licensee's judgment or impacts the licensee's
Page 9, Line 4ability to perform a medical service with reasonable skill and
Page 9, Line 5safety to patients, as determined by a peer health assistance program designated as a provider by the board.
Page 9, Line 6SECTION 6. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
Page 9, Line 7takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
Page 9, Line 8ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
Page 9, Line 9that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
Page 9, Line 10of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this
Page 9, Line 11act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take
Page 9, Line 12effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
Page 9, Line 13November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.