Joe Rice
State Representative, Colorado House District 38
Blog
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Small Colorado Firms get Health Perks
Posted Jul 13 at 9 PM
Workers will benefit from lifestyle changes under a law change.
By Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/09/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Workers at small businesses in Colorado soon can earn extra vacation time, wear-jeans-to-work days and discounts on their insurance premiums by improving their health.
Before recent changes in state law, insurance companies were forbidden from offering incentives to small businesses that set up wellness programs for their employees.
Now, stores, restaurants and other businesses with one to 300 workers can sign up for wellness programs similar to those offered for years by larger companies.
Since the change in the law, among the first programs launched was announced Thursday by United Healthcare and the Mountain States Employers Council, which has more than 2,700 members.
The program, called HealthSource Colorado, will allow workers access to an interactive website created by the Mayo Clinic that will assess their health risks and make suggestions for improvement. Employers can earn discounts of 3 percent to 5 percent from United Healthcare, which they can pass on to participating employees however they choose — premium discounts, gift cards or other prizes.
Research shows that for every $1 spent on wellness, there is a savings of about $3 on health care costs, said United Healthcare chief executive Beth Soberg. That's because an estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of medical costs in the United States is related to diet, exercise and other changeable habits, including smoking.
"A lot of times, just a small incentive will help people get started on something, and then it becomes a habit; it becomes a lifestyle choice," said Rep. Joe Rice, a Littleton Democrat who sponsored the law changes.
A state law that took effect July 1 allows small businesses to reap insurance discounts when employees improve their health. A 2009 law allowed small businesses to get discounts when employees participate in wellness programs.
The number of small businesses in Colorado that provide health-insurance benefits has dropped by as much as 10 percent in the past couple of years because of the economic downturn, said Kelly Esselman of the Mountain States Employers Council.
Other insurance companies in Colorado also are developing incentive programs for small businesses. Rocky Mountain Health Plans will begin enrollment in its new plan Oct. 1.
The program could work similarly to the one RMHP uses with its own 500 employees, who are tested annually for glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure and tobacco use, then given a health-assessment score. Those who receive scores of at least 71 out of 100 get a discount on their premium.
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com -
Rice Aims to Secure Another Term
Posted Jun 07 at 1 PM
By Heather Sackett, The Littleton Independent
Published: 06.03.10State Rep. Joe Rice has spent the past five summers either in Iraq or campaigning. And this year is no different.
The Democrat from Littleton is hitting the state House campaign trail for the third time. He is defending his House District 38 seat against Republican challenger and political newcomer Kathleen Conti.
After two very busy terms in the state House of Representatives, Rice said he considered not running this year. But in the end, his commitment to public service won out.
“There are tough times in Colorado with the economy and everything,” said the colonel in the Army Reserve, “and I don’t want to leave when there are still things I think we need to do.”
The biggest issues facing his district, like much of the rest of the state, are the economy and education, Rice said. Coming off a year when state legislators made tough decisions to balance the budget by cutting more than $2 billion in spending, Rice will be taking that message door to door.
“There weren’t any easy cuts this year,” he said. “There were just less-bad ones.”
The issue of education funding is hitting home for Littleton Public Schools, which will likely ask voters for $12 million this fall in the form of a mill levy override election to make up for state funding shortfalls. Rice says there is no silver bullet to solve the problem and that the day is coming when the state will have to ask voters for more money to fund K-12.
“(LPS) will probably, I hope, have success with their mill levy, but not every community in the state can do that,” he said. “Ultimately, the state is going to have to go to the voters for some type of revenue increase and you aren’t going to be able to do it in these economic times. Only when the economy is recovering and people feel optimistic will they want to put things back we’ve cut in the lean times.”
The problem with education funding, Rice said, is that over the years amendments to the state constitution like the Gallagher amendment and TABOR, have decreased the local share of taxes that go toward education and increased the school funding burden on the state.
“There aren’t any easy answers,” Rice said. “To say we are being taxed to death sounds good, but in real dollars we are paying less.”
Conti has criticized Rice, who has strong Republican backing, for talking like a conservative and not advertising himself as a Democrat. But Rice — who has lived in Arapahoe County for more than 20 years, seven of those as mayor of Glendale — says voters know with certainty to which party he belongs.
“I think its kind of insulting to the people who voted for me,” he said. “People know I’m a Democrat. It says it on the ballot.”
Rice has also been criticized for sponsoring a piece of legislation in 2009 known as the FASTER bill, which provides funding for road and bridge repair. It also raised car registration fees.
Rice admits that raising fees, which are the same for everyone regardless of income, was not a politically popular thing to do. But public safety on the roadways is more important, he said, and the gas tax is not enough to pay for much-needed repairs.
“In Colorado we ended up with 126 structurally deficient bridges,” he said. “We did have a bridge collapse in Colorado three years ago and it killed two people. The politically popular thing to do would not be to run these things, but I actually got involved to make things better. Sometimes it involves tax cuts and sometimes it involves increases like FASTER.”
At this time last year, Rice was serving a combat tour in Iraq. He returned home on Dec. 24, 2009, before the last legislative session began. His 25 years of military service are a big part of who Rice is, and have no doubt won him some Republican votes in this traditionally Republican district. Rice recognizes that, but says it’s more than his four tours in Iraq that make him a popular politician among District 38 voters.
“I take the job seriously,” he said. “I try to work hard. I try to be responsive to people. I will meet with anyone, anytime who wants to meet about anything.”
Rice says he could not be elected without the support of Republicans in his district. This November, he will be tested again on his ability to bridge the gap between the two parties and transcend partisan politics.
“I think even the vast majority of people who claim a party I don’t think are very partisan,” he said. “I think they actually still like to look at things on their merits and decide things on a case by case basis. Democrats and Republicans are not on different teams. We are all on the same team here, or at least we should be.”
Even though it’s sure to be a busy summer, filled with campaigning and teaching night classes on the U.S. Constitution at the University of Phoenix, Rice hopes to find at least a little time to relax with his wife and three kids.
“We haven’t taken a family vacation of any kind in a couple of years,” he said. “I’d like to go camping in the mountains or Durango, maybe New Mexico.”
Article available here.
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Colorado Bill Allows Insurance Discounts for Health Improvement
Posted Apr 20 at 2 PM
By Jennifer Brown, The Denver Post
A proposed state law that allows health insurance discounts for improvements such as losing weight or cutting cholesterol could lead to a system where co-workers with the same coverage pay different premiums based on their health.
Health insurance companies in Colorado are now allowed to reward people for participating in wellness or smoking-cessation programs, but the new legislation takes that a step further. Discounts could come with improved health.
"People respond to incentives," said Rep. Joe Rice, a Littleton Democrat sponsoring the bill up for debate at the Capitol. "When people start doing something they weren't before . . . like walk 100 miles . . . it becomes kind of a habit and a culture and a thought."
The legislation, House Bill 1160, would affect small businesses — those with 50 employees or fewer — and people who buy insurance individually. Large companies already can offer such incentive-based discounts under federal law.
The legislation initially riled advocates for people with disabilities, including mental illness and multiple sclerosis, because they feared those people would lose out on discounts.
An amendment to the proposal says that if people with disabilities — weak hearts, bad backs or other issues — give their insurance company a doctor's note explaining they can't participate, they can receive the same discount as other employees.
"Nobody is penalized," Rice said.
Incentive programs allowed under the legislation could look something like the one Rocky Mountain Health Plans uses with its own 500 employees.
Workers in the program are tested annually for glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure and tobacco use, then given a health-assessment score based on how likely they are to develop diabetes or heart disease.
Those who receive a score of at least 71 out of 100 get a discount on their premium.
Employees who improve their score by at least five points from one year to the next also receive a discount. The maximum discount allowed by law is 20 percent.
Quitting smoking is worth 25 points.
"By using measurable results, you have a much higher motivation on the part of participants to actually commit themselves to adopting healthy lifestyles," said Neil Waldron, Rocky Mountain Health Plans' chief marketing officer.
Rewards and improvement
It makes a huge difference to tie rewards to health improvement, not just participation, he said. Otherwise, "you take a health-risk assessment and you go home and eat a bag of potato chips," Waldron said.
Three years into the program, the number of Rocky Mountain Health Plans employees identified as having high disease risk has dropped significantly, Waldron said.
Supporters of the legislation say it could end up lowering insurance costs for small businesses in Colorado as their workers achieve better health.
Critics of the proposal are skeptical.
"It sounds wonderful and I believe in wellness, but once again I'm cynical enough to assume it's going to be in the best interest of insurance companies, ultimately," said Sen. Joyce Foster, a Denver Democrat who was one of two senators who voted against the bill when it passed out of committee last week.
Foster worries that insurance companies would offer such incentive programs only to businesses with healthy, young employees.
There are also concerns about peer pressure in small offices — say, a smoker or overweight person chose not to sign up — and about privacy if a worker with depression or a heart problem had to produce a doctor's note explaining why he couldn't participate, Foster said.
Mental Health America of Colorado initially was against the bill, concerned that such incentive programs would slight people with mental illness.
No one "unfairly targeted"
People taking antidepressants, for example, might gain weight as a side effect of their medicine and probably have little success in a weight-loss program, said Steve Kopanos, the association's vice president for public policy.
After amendments to the bill, the group supports it.
"There are protections in the bill to ensure that no one is being unfairly targeted in any way," Kopanos said.
The legislation has passed the House and is up for debate in the full Senate this week.
Lynn Leader, owner of the 35-employee Alumni Consulting Group in Greenwood Village, is among the small-business owners who want the law to pass. She thinks incentive programs would improve overall health among co-workers — a positive kind of peer pressure.
Besides, Leader said, she doesn't expect dramatic differences in premiums among co-workers. The insurance company and employer would decide discount amounts.
"Whatever the benefits are, there is a time limit on them," she said. "It's not that my health insurance is going to be $300 less than yours forever because I quit smoking a month ago."
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2 Colo Lawmakers Want To Renew InstaCheck For Guns
Posted Apr 19 at 4 PM
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A law aimed at keeping guns from criminals may expire this summer in Colorado.
Sunday afternoon two state lawmakers called for the continuation of "InstaCheck." The program is designed to prevent someone from buying a gun if they have a criminal record, if they're charged with a crime, or arrested for domestic violence.
Democratic Sens. Joe Rice of Littleton and Betty Boyd of Lakewood are sponsoring the bill.
"Ninety-nine out of 100 people here in Colorado would say, 'Yeah, I don't think that person who just got that domestic violence charge, there clearly was a fight, I don't think that person should go out right now and get a firearm," Rice said.
"The concept of innocent until proven guilty is still an important concept in this country. The government can't just charge you with something and then just treat you like a criminal, which in effect this bill would do," said David Williams Jr., Libertarian Party State Chair.
Supporters say InstaCheck had bi-partisan support 10 years ago, but they fear lawmakers voting for renewal would be unfairly labeled as anti-gun.
InstaCheck will expire if it's not renewed before July 1.
Story Available here.
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State Resolution Honors Helpful Dogs (9NEWS)
Posted Apr 15 at 11 AM
DENVER - Dogs trained at a facility in Englewood are more than just man's best friend. They are a lifeline to wounded veterans.
Freedom Service Dogs is a nonprofit organization. It rescues shelter dogs and trains them to become companions for wounded veterans and the physically disabled.
Wednesday, Rep. Joe Rice (D-Littleton) presented a resolution at the State Capitol honoring Freedom Service Dogs, and recognizing the positive impact that the dogs have on the every day lives of their owners.
"Freedom Service Dogs provide a really important benefit to our veterans beyond helping them with the details of their lives, like opening doors and providing stability - they provide companionship and comfort," Rice said. "For veterans returning from traumatic combat situations, sometimes it's nice to have somebody you don't have to explain things to."
Four veterans who received dogs from Freedom Service Dogs attended the reading of the resolution at the Capitol.
One of them was Sgt. Charles Berninghausen. He lost his left leg when a bomb exploded next to him in Ramadi, Iraq in December 2007. His right leg was also injured. Berninghausen joined the Wounded Warriors program, which in turn put him in touch with Freedom Service Dogs.
Recently the organization paired him with a black Lab named "Tux."
Berninghausen says the dog is now the most important thing in his life besides his wife and child.
"If I have a problem walking around, he's there to brace me. If I fall down he can help to help me get up. He's just a companion. He's everything for me. He helps me with everything in my day to day living," Berninghausen said.
He is still based out of Fort Carson and is part of the Warrior Transition Battalion, Bravo Company 3rd Platoon.
Dogs trained at Freedom Service Dogs not only help veterans deal with physical injuries, but emotional ones.
It costs about $25,000 to train each dog for nine months. Freedom Service Dogs operates solely on donations. If you would like to donate or volunteer, go to www.freedomservicedogs.org.
The organization has graduated and placed 150 dogs. About 50 people are currently on the waiting list for a dog.
Story Available Here: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=136870&catid=188
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Ritter Signs Car-Dealer Rights Bill Into Law
Posted Mar 24 at 12 PM
By Ed Sealover, Denver Business Journal
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed into law a bill that gives Chrysler and General Motors dealers who were closed during the automakers’ bankruptcies a right of first refusal if the companies reopen an area franchise — or a right to demand the franchise back if it already has been reassigned.
House Bill 1049 — sponsored by Reps. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, and Marsha Looper, R-Calhan — is expected to spur immediate action by some Chrysler dealers who allege that they were shut down for political reasons only to see their franchises given to someone else up the street. Supporters have said they also believe it could bring about a lawsuit from Chrysler, though a spokeswoman for the company said Monday that no lawsuits are planned in regard to the bill.
HB 1049 roared through the Legislature, passing by votes of 60-5 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate, and it drew emotional response from both legislators and the dealers it affected.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, said during a press conference that he wanted the legislation to “hit (Chrysler and GM) hard,” and several dealers ousted by the two companies broke down in tears while telling of their plights.
The final step for the bill came quietly, as Ritter signed it in his office without an audience present. But supporters said they are just happy it is now law.
“We’ve been working this for a long time,” Rice said. “We’re glad that we got it through the system as quickly as we could, because from this moment on, a lot of dealers will have protections they didn’t have before.”
HB 1049 gives the 39 Chrysler and GM dealers in Colorado who had franchises revoked last year a right of first refusal if the auto makers decide to reopen a franchise within five miles of theirs in the next five years. It also requires Chrysler or GM to refund a large portion of the money that the terminated dealers put into capital upgrades of their facilities in the past five years.
Another provision allows dealers who already have seen their franchise given to another dealership to go back to the automakers and demand that the dealership either be returned to them or that they receive payments for their closing — a choice belonging to the dealers. Those payments, approved by the Legislature in 2009, include the good-will value of a dealership on the date of its termination and one year’s worth of rent for the building.
GM officials stopped fighting the bill this month after the time for the right of first refusal was cut in half and the percentage of capital improvements needing repayment was reduced.
Chrysler, meanwhile, has filed a legal action against four other states that have passed similar but less comprehensive laws, arguing that the bills interfere with a decision by a federal bankruptcy court allowing Chrysler to terminate a number of dealers.
While Chrysler spokeswoman Eileen Wunderlich said her company fought HB 1049 because it believes state-by-state legislation gets in the way of the federally approved bankruptcy plan, it has no plans to extend the lawsuit to include the Colorado law at the moment.
Melissa Kuipers, vice president of government relations and communication for the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said she does not know how quickly some ousted dealers will turn around and demand the return of their franchise that was given to someone else. But she said that she is glad the bill finally levels the playing field between auto manufacturers and dealers in this state.
“House Bill 1049 gives 39 dealers in Colorado the voice they haven’t had since this downsizing began,” Kuipers said.
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Representative Rice Pushes for 3 New Guard Armories
Posted Mar 18 at 3 PM
Bill passes committee on 10-0 vote.
By Gary Massaro
THE GREENWOOD VILLAGER
Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, last week introduced HB 1140, which would build three new National Guard armories in Colorado. An armory is a headquarters where a unit meets monthly and trains. The federal government would put up the most of the money to fund the armories.
“It’s way over match,” said Rice, a co-sponsor of the measure. “The state comes up with the land for the armory and builds the armory.” Rice said the bill would provide for three new National Guard units with eight full-time jobs for each of them and around 3,000 part time employees.
“It increases the National Guard ability in responding to state emergencies plus federal call-ups,” Rice said. The state money would come from the tobacco settlement portion in the state’s Veterans Trust Fund.
“Veterans organizations-these guys continue to serve- they didn’t have to consent to this money coming out of the Veterans Trust Fund. As organizations, they have agreed,” Rice said. “Otherwise, it would be very difficult to come up with the money.” If passed, armories would be built in Windsor, Alamosa and Grand Junction.
The bill proposes to allocate $4.7 million of the remaining balance of the fund to be appropriated to the construction of these three armories. “Bringing in federal funds to help build these armories will allow the Colorado National Guard to grow it forces and keep Colorado safe,” said Rice, a colonel in the Army Reserve.
The bill passed 10-0 with bipartisan support in the House State, Veterans, and Military affairs Committee. The bill now goes to another House committee.
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National Veterans Tour Promotes Clean Energy, National Security
Posted Feb 08 at 11 PM
By Jimy Valenti
THE COLORADO STATESMANVeterans hit the state Capitol’s west steps last Friday, educating citizens and lawmakers on the connection between climate change and national security.
“At first people say, ‘what are you talking about, climate change and national security?’” said 24-year Navy veteran Rick Hegdall. “And then people understand. If we buy fuel from unstable areas the cost of that fuel is more than we pay at the pump. Our military is being used, our treasury and most importantly lives are at stake, keeping the oil flowing to us.”
The Veterans for American Power National Tour, sponsored by Operation Free, stopped in Denver as part of a two-month national bus tour where veterans, most of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, discussed America’s dependence on foreign oil, its eventual funding of terrorist organizations and its responsibility for destabilizing climate change.
Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, himself a Navy veteran, spoke at the event along with Iraq war veteran Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, and Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, whose son has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rice stressed the need for domestic sources of clean energy so energy policy will not enter into the discussion when deciding whether to go to war.
“Our dependence on foreign oil is in our decision cycle concerning national security and international relations, particularly when we deal with countries in the Middle East,” said Rice. “What we would like to be able to do is get energy out of that decision cycle. We may still have moral obligations or other security interests in the Middle East, but we can at least take energy out of the equation.”
Robin Eckstein served in Iraq in 2003. She drove a truck for the Army from Bagdad Airport to various outposts around the country delivering water and fuel. She said the daily drive was always at risk to IEDs and sniper fire.
“If we could have made just one less trip a week when delivering fuel we could have been that much safer,” said Eckstein, who now volunteers for Operation Free. “A more fuel efficient army is a safer one.”
The representatives also spoke about the economic benefits of green jobs, which can’t be outsourced, and the importance of greater American energy independence.
“There is great synergy between what were doing under the dome and what these veterans are doing out on the road,” said Shaffer.
Over the next two months, the veterans’ tour will travel to 16 states and hold nearly 60 events.
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Article Available at: www.coloradostatesman.com/content/991582-national-veterans-tour-promotes-clean-energy-national-security
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Latest News From the Statehouse
Posted Jan 31 at 2 PM
Visit joericecolorado.blogspot.com/ for the latest news about the 2010 legislative session, including bills I am sponsoring and information on the issues you care about. Please share your feedback - I always appreciate hearing from Coloradans!
You will also find breaking news from the statehouse at coloradohouse.org.
Thanks for being involved in YOUR state government!
-Joe
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9 News Video: Joe returns from 6 month tour of duty in Iraq
Posted Nov 19 at 2 PM
Joe is a member of the United States Army Reserve. Use of his military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.
