The Financial Effects on Colorado if the "Kelly Loving Act" is passed.

HB25-1312 This bill is called by the creators of it the "Kelly Loving Act".  There is nothing loving about this bill at all, and it could be very costly to Colorado residents.  It will possibly remove children from their parents if the parent does not comply with this new state law.  It takes away parental rights and gives these rights to bureaucratic people who run the government. They are wanting to make the decisions that should only be the right of parents, anywhere and at all times.

The bill itself states in Section 2, "when making child custody decisions and determining the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time, a court shall consider deadnaming (that means the given name at birth), misgendering (not biological gender given at the time of birth), or threatening (a parent refusing to yield to gender disforia) as types of coercive control.

It goes on to state that to "publish material related to an individual's gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control." This opens the door to legal consequences against freedom of speech for any individual or group of people who publish materials in opposition to transgender ideologies.  This wording will leave the door open to prosecute of any individual, parent, school or health provider, or any organization that does not agree with gender-affirming healthcare. 

Notice this wording also... "A court shall consider reports of coercive control when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interests of the child."  In other words, the courts will make the determination as to what is best for your children!  

At the same time that courts are supposed to determine parental control, this bill will make courts hamstrung by this next provision.  Section 3 "prohibits a Colorado court from applying or giving any force or effect to another state's law that authorizes a state agency to remove a child from the child's parent or guardian because the parent or guardian allowed the child to receive gender-affirming healthcare services. This section will cause massive legal battles which won't be able to be resolved without Supreme Courts decisions.

The next sections will make schools a battle ground for ideologies of both liberals and conservatives, whether private, charter, home school, or public.  Section 4 provides that, "if a local education provider, an educator, or a contractor chooses to enact or enforce a policy related to chosen names, that policy must be to make the policy inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a chosen name that differs from the student's legal name. 

Needless to say, because of Sections 4 through 8, the financial consequences are possibly this: According to a John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, a 2015 medical study showed "annual cost of medical care for transgender men is in the range of $20,000 and up to $35,000 for trans women."  That cost has increased with inflation.  "One of the reasons it is important to examine costs associated with transition-related care is that researchers have consistently shown that transgender and gender diverse individuals are at the greatest risk of suicide and depression."

According to the 2022 "Household Pulse Survey" in the United States, approximately only 0.52% of the adult population identifies as transgender.  In Colorado only 0.45%"  No matter the percentage, trans people need coverage for all types of insurance. However, this bill possibly opens up the door to insurance companies having to create a one-tier premium rate for all individuals for life insurance, health insurance, long term care, and other insurance rates that are based in health and mortality assumptions, causing all insurers to increase rates for all and thus causing insured's to pay much higher premiums. Why? Because Section 4 states, "a contractor (which could eventually be construed as an insurance company) could not base it's premiums on gender because, they must  according to Section 4, "chooses to enact or enforce a policy related to chosen names, that policy must be to make the policy inclusive of all reasons that a student (it could be an insured) might adopt a chosen name that differs from the student's legal name.  Already, many transgender people are wanting to choose their gender to obtain lower insurance rates, whether male or female, depending on the preferred rate they want to obtain.

This bill is bad for all the public and for the economy of Colorado. If you have read this, thus far, please contact every state Senator from all parties, and tell them this bill is just plain bad for Colorado, financially.

Dr. Jimmy C. Alexander - LUTCF