Panel endorses Colorado hospital fee

Hospital officials and advocates for the uninsured have argued in favor of a bill that would impose a fee on Colorado hospitals to generate a total of $1.2 billion for expanded healthcare programs. But Republicans on the House Health and Human Services Committee questioned whether the new programs were sustainable and asked whether insured patients would ultimately bear higher costs. After a nearly seven-hour hearing, the committee approved the bill on a 5-4 vote. It now goes to the state House Appropriations Committee.