Please Support House Bill 1336

At a time when Colorado is cutting funding for healthcare services, including Medicaid, it is more important than ever to protect and expand access to safe, affordable care. HB 26-1336 is a practical, cost-conscious solution that helps fill those gaps by allowing pharmacists, who are highly trained healthcare professionals who practice within a strict scope of practice and standard of care requirements, to provide services they are already trained and authorized to deliver. For your awareness, the bill was amended in committee to move the age limit to 5 and above, also require a notification or referral to a primary care provider for ages 5-12 if test or treatment occurs, striking a smart balance in the policy framework. Contacting your legislator is critical to show support for a common-sense, cost-effective solution that reduces barriers to care and helps families get the services they need, when and where they need them.

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HB_26_1336_Access_to_Pharmacists_Services_4_1_26.pdf

CO2026AHB 26-1336

Increase Access to Pharmacy Services

Last Action

House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

House • Mar 31, 2026

Latest Version

Preamended PA1 (04/01/2026)

General Orders - Second Reading of Bills • House Floor Work

Apr 06, 2026 10:00am

House Chamber

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Your Message to the legislators

Dear (name and title inserted automatically),

I am writing to ask you to support HB 26-1336, a practical and cost-conscious way to expand access to safe, affordable healthcare for Colorado families.

At a time when the state is cutting healthcare services, including Medicaid, Colorado should be looking for responsible ways to close access gaps and help people receive timely care in lower-cost settings. This bill does exactly that by allowing pharmacists, who are highly trained healthcare professionals practicing within a clearly defined scope of practice, to provide services they are already trained and authorized to deliver.

Under current law, pharmacists can administer simple diagnostic tests (the exact same tests used in other settings) to patients of any age.  Furthermore they already have authority to prescribe independently for certain services for patients ages 12 and older. But for those under 12, an outdated statutory restriction still creates a barrier to care in these scenarios. Even when a pharmacy can administer a CLIA-waived test and clearly identify a result (i.e., positive test), families may still be forced to seek care elsewhere for treatment, leading to added costs, delays, and unnecessary urgent care or emergency department visits. 
 
HB 26-1336 addresses that narrow gap by allowing pharmacists to provide timely and affordable care, consistent with their scope of practice and standard of care. This bill is a targeted update to improve access, not an unchecked expansion of authority. The bill was amended in committee to move the age limit to 5 and above, also require a notification or referral to a primary care provider for ages 5-12 if test or treatment occurs, striking a smart balance in the policy framework.

The bill also supports a more efficient healthcare system by authorizing trained pharmacy technicians to double check a drug product under pharmacist supervision. Pharmacists retain responsibility for clinical judgment, patient counseling, and medication-related decisions, but this workflow improvement helps free up more pharmacist time for direct patient care. This authority has been successfully implemented in many other states.

Just as importantly, HB 26-1336 helps ensure pharmacists can be reimbursed for covered patient care services they are already authorized to provide within their scope of practice. This will promote more consistent access to care without requiring health plans to contract with additional providers.

HB 26-1336 is a practical solution that helps fill healthcare access gaps at a time of real budget pressure, all the while maintaining strong safeguards and making better use of the healthcare workforce we already have.

I respectfully urge your support.