UCHealth and HCPF reach agreement that safeguards integrity of CHASE program and supports rural hospitals

In addition, UCHealth establishes a $5.7 million fund to support specific rural hospitals impacted by reclassification

Aurora, Colo. (August 26, 2025) – UCHealth and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) have reached an agreement that will appropriately reclassify UCHealth hospitals in the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE) hospital provider fee program while protecting Colorado’s rural and safety-net hospitals.

Earlier this year, a district court ruled HCPF had misclassified two UCHealth hospitals. Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs had been classified as governmental facilities when they should have been classified as private in the CHASE program.

In the agreement, HCPF will drop its appeal of the district court’s decision and will correctly classify these hospitals in the current and future CHASE models. UCHealth agrees to waive all changes to the 2023-24 CHASE model, which means governmental hospitals will not have to repay an estimated $59.7 million in CHASE funds received last year that would otherwise have been required to be transferred to the private CHASE category, and UCHealth will not receive any additional funding.

“UCHealth is dedicated to providing the highest quality care for all Coloradans, and we are honored to be our state’s largest provider of Medicaid services,” said Elizabeth B. Concordia, UCHealth president and CEO. “We strongly support the CHASE program, and we thank the state and HCPF for their collaboration and support of providers who care for patients covered by Medicaid. The greatest successes for patients and our state happen when hospitals, HCPF and the administration work together collaboratively.”

Apart from the agreement with the state, UCHealth is also establishing a new, $5.7 million donation fund linked to its community benefit program to support any rural, independent, governmental hospitals that are negatively impacted by the reclassification of UCHealth’s hospitals in the 2024-2025 CHASE model.

“More than 80% of Colorado’s rural hospitals are under significant financial strain and operating with thin or negative margins. The CHASE fee is an essential funding mechanism for our rural hospitals. Instability or uncertainty in the fee could have pushed vulnerable hospitals past the breaking point. UCHealth’s approach to waive changes for last year and invest millions this year demonstrates a real commitment to protecting access to care in rural Colorado. We are deeply grateful for their partnership,” said Jeff Tieman, president and CEO of the Colorado Hospital Association.

UCHealth will work with the Colorado Hospital Association to determine how its new community benefit fund will be distributed to those impacted hospitals.

About UCHealth

UCHealth is a nationally recognized nonprofit health system that pushes the boundaries of medicine through advanced treatments and clinical trials, improving health through innovation and providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. Investing $1.3 billion in community benefits including $570 million in uncompensated care each year, UCHealth is Colorado’s largest Medicaid provider and dedicated to the communities it serves. With the region’s only adult academic medical center, University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, UCHealth includes 35,000 employees, 14 acute-care hospitals and hundreds of physicians across Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska.

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