COLOR Responds to September Economic and Revenue Forecast
Colorado’s September Economic and Revenue Forecast confirms that state leaders will face significant budget challenges in the coming year. As Colorado begins another difficult budget conversation, we must be honest about how we got here, and who is repeatedly expected to bear the consequences.
COLOR is calling on state leaders to protect access to care, reject new eligibility and administrative barriers, and include the communities most affected in budget decisions from the beginning.
“Every year, the people who need healthcare and other public programs are positioned as the problem,” said Dusti Gurule, President and CEO of COLOR. “State leaders cannot keep avoiding accountability while forcing our communities to live with the consequences.”
Legislative Council Staff projects General Fund revenue will grow 9.5% in FY 2026–27, with revenue expectations upgraded by approximately $340 million since the June forecast. At the same time, projected obligations and federal policy changes, including rising Medicaid costs, new state SNAP costs, education, state employee compensation, and other expenses, are expected to put significant pressure on the state budget in FY 2027–28. The forecast makes clear that immediate budget pressure is driven primarily by rising expenditures and new obligations, not declining state revenue.
“Healthcare requires investment in people, and those costs rise when people are living through economic instability, loss of coverage, and going without care until they are in crisis because of broken systems,” Gurule said. “The serious question is not whether caring for people is costing Colorado too much. It is whether our healthcare system is actually meeting people’s needs, whether public dollars are improving health outcomes, and whether elected officials are fulfilling their duty of care to everyone who calls Colorado home.”
The 2026 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda found that 43% of Latino registered voters say their financial situation has worsened over the past year, compared with 22% who say it has improved. Lowering healthcare costs is among Latino voters’ top priorities for state leaders, and nearly one in four respondents reported skipping or delaying wellness visits, regular checkups, or vaccines in the past year.
“Our communities are struggling to afford healthcare and delaying care because of cost and lack of access. The legislature’s response cannot be to create more barriers or blame the people who need care most,” Gurule said.
Legislative Council Staff reports that about $200 million of the state’s $213.1 million in FY 2025–26 General Fund overexpenditures went to Medical Services Premiums. It projects Medicaid spending above current appropriations in FY 2026–27, continued growth in FY 2027–28, and a new state SNAP obligation under federal law.
“A budget reveals whom our public institutions prioritize. Spending more than projected is not the same as spending too much on healthcare: one is a fiscal fact; the other is a political judgment about how much care, and whose care, the state will fund. Treating anyone’s healthcare as expendable is also a political choice,” Gurule said.
As the forecast shapes the next state budget, COLOR is urging policymakers, media, advocates, community organizations, and the public to distinguish between the fiscal challenges identified in the forecast and the choices made in response.
“We should be asking how Colorado builds a healthcare system where getting the care you need does not depend on your income, your immigration story, or whether you can prove you are deserving of it,” Gurule said.