Category:Health Service Districts in Colorado

Colorado's Special Districts defined by Title 32 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the "Special District Act".^[1] Health Service Districts replaced Hospital Districts in 1996 legislature House Bill 96-1275 which amended the Colorado Special District Act to allow health service districts to provide health services not clearly linked with a physical facility and authority to contract or work cooperatively with other healthcare providers.^[2] The authority for what were now legally termed health service districts as of 1996 to operate and maintain health-related facilities not limited to hospitals, community clinics, rehabilitation centers, and nursing care facilities was unchanged.^[3] Districts were allowed to keep their names many of whom retain the term "hospital district" despite the new legal definition and broader powers. This 1996 update may have been partially in response to a lawsuit against the Poudre Health Service District.^[4] The Colorado legislature significantly expanded the scope and flexibility of health service districts in Colorado allowing them to provide a wide range of health services to their communities without the constraint of operating physical facilities for each service offered.