Dear Editor:
Experience and success in government matter, so there is every reason to re-elect Katie Stewart to the Colorado House of Representatives. Rep. Stewart has achieved so much in her first two years as a representative for southwest Colorado that it is difficult to summarize it.
She sponsored and passed, along with our Senator Cleve Simpson, a bill that would allow EMT services to bill insurance and Medicaid for treatment done at a person’s home, or at the site of an accident, and be able to transport a patient to a non-emergency provider. Previously, if the EMT provided treatment but did not transport a patient to the emergency department, the EMT would not be paid. That created financial stress for the EMT service providers. This is particularly relevant to Archuleta County because our EMT is a public service provided by our hospital district. It can also spare the patient an expensive emergency room visit.
Rep. Stewart also sponsored a bill that allows compounding pharmacies to continue to operate in our state. You may need a medication that is different from the one produced by a pharmacy company, or the medication you need can be produced less expensively by a compounding pharmacy. The bill allows you to get that personalized medicine and savings.
We know that housing expenses in mountain resort communities are more expensive than in urban areas. She sponsored a bill that increased the allowable income threshold for affordable housing to 120% of the area median income (AMI) so that more people can qualify. The law will also allow an eligible organization to temporarily rent units it cannot sell.
A bill that Rep. Stewart and Sen. Simpson sponsored has particular relevance for Archuleta County right now. It allowed counties to raise the lodging tax up to 6% and expanded its permitted uses when approved by local tax payers. We will be deciding whether to raise lodging taxes here during this election.
Water is a contentious issue. Rep. Stewart has proposed that trans-mountain diversion water rights be reevaluated in light of the long-term decreases in snowpack. She has also sponsored a resolution to force the federal government to honor its responsibilities to tribal water rights.
Rep. Stewart sponsored a bill that gives tribal members free access to state parks so they can visit those ancestral lands for free.
Prenatal care is important to protect both the mother and the fetus. Rep. Stewart, mother or stepmother to six children, knows this. She passed a bill that requires insurance companies to pay for up to three prenatal visits with no co-pay or deductible.
Another bill that Rep. Stewart sponsored is call “Preventing Sexual Abuse in Jails.” This bill prevents jail personnel from viewing video strip searches. In La Plata County 117 inmates in 3,000 instances were subjected to this abuse of power.
Let’s keep Katie Stewart in the Colorado State House so she can continue this exemplary record of service and success.
Lynn R. Frederick
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