COLORADO — The Patients’ Right To Know Act, the nation’s first comprehensive health care transparency law, goes into full effect today, October 1. The law will considerably improve the ability of Coloradans to make informed decisions about their health care by requiring hospitals to inform patients if they deny services for non-medical reasons. American Atheists has been a strong advocate for this legislation from conception to implementation. Sponsored by Colorado State Representatives Brianna Titone and Kyle Brown, HB 1218 passed both the House and Senate with an overwhelming majority and was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis in 2023, making Colorado the first state to adopt this type of comprehensive health care transparency law. Sheryl Kallivrousis, co-chair of American Atheists’ Colorado Secular Advocacy Team, said, “I’m proud to live in a state that will serve as a model for legislatures and boards of health across the country.” She added, “This law will protect all Coloradans, but it’s especially important for our state’s most vulnerable populations, those who are harmed the most by denial of care, including women, LGBTQ folks, and people who live in rural areas.” (In Colorado, 42% of all births occur in hospitals that restrict reproductive care, the second highest level of any state in the nation.) After its passage, American Atheists attended stakeholder meetings, coordinated with state advocates, and provided expert guidance to help with the law’s implementation. In August of this year, the Colorado Board of Health unanimously adopted rules to implement the Patients’ Right to Know Act. Across the country, hospitals can deny or limit the availability of reproductive health care, LGBTQ services, and/or end-of-life care for non-medical reasons, such as the personal religious beliefs of executives. Too often, these facilities fail to inform patients about these restrictions, which means individuals and families seeking care are not provided the necessary information to make informed choices about their care. “We firmly believe patients’ medical needs should come first — especially during a medical emergency — rather than the religious beliefs of hospitals or executives,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “The Patients’ Right To Know Act will help ensure that no Coloradan is denied health care because of someone else’s religious beliefs.” Beginning today, thanks to the Patients’ Right to Know Act, when a Colorado health care facility denies care based on religious beliefs or other non-medical reasons, they must now be transparent and disclose this information to the public via a “Service Availability Form.” “Colorado has proven it’s possible to pass common-sense health care transparency legislation with bipartisan support,” said Nick Fish, President of American Atheists. “Our work isn’t done, though. In too many places, the law still allows for non-medical denial of care, so we’re going to continue advocating for transparency legislation and patients’ right to know policies across the country — wherever Americans are being denied life-saving services and the information needed to make informed decisions about their well-being.”
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