Policy and Advocacy

Colorado’s local public agencies (LPHAs), as front-line public health practitioners, are in a unique position to understand how federal and state-level policies affect their ability to protect and improve their communities’ health. They are also key experts in helping craft new policy solutions to ongoing health and health system issues.
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CALPHO’s member-lead Policy Committee, guided by staff and external experts, performs policy analysis, gathers information and experience from their peers, and decides both CALPHO's position and advocacy strategies for specific policies. CALPHO takes both a proactive and reactive approach to working on state-level policies. In some cases, we act to inform and educate decision-makers on the public health system, policy impacts, and solutions. In other cases, we advocate for or against specific policies. These policies are usually bills introduced in the Colorado Legislature or as part of the budget process, but can also include regulations issued by state executives or the rules of specific state agencies. Generally, CALPHO considers potential impact in the following areas:
  • Public health system (CALPHO’s primary policy focus) – This includes issues relating to LPHA funding, operations, authority, mandated services, and specific environmental health issues (like food safety, air quality and water quality).
  • Health insurance system – This includes issues like Medicaid transformation, insurance system structure, and coverage expansion.
  • Health care system – An area with a wide variety of concerns for public health, this includes issues like workforce needs, licensing, reportable conditions, health care associated infections, primary care transformation, value-based payment reform, and health information technology.
  • Other areas with public health impact – There are public health concerns found in most other policy areas. A few examples are marijuana policy, law enforcement, education, public transit/transportation, infrastructure, land use, and agricultural policy.
More Resources
Explore Colorado's policy landscape:

> Explanation of the legislative process from the Colorado Legislature

​> Explanation of the annual budget process from the Colorado Fiscal Institute

> Blog from the Colorado Center for Law and Policy (CCLP)

> More resources from the Colorado Nonprofit Association