Denver committee advances $48.8 million health agreement without restoring funding for two services

Denver City Council’s Health and Safety Committee voted 6-0 on Nov. 4 to advance a proposed $48,796,698, 12-month agreement with Denver Health and Hospital Authority for 2027. One committee member was absent. The committee’s minutes record approval for filing, which advances the proposal but does not constitute final City Council adoption.

The agreement would fund Denver Health services for Denver residents and city agencies. It includes $30,777,300 for patient care and $18,019,398 for other core and non-core services, according to the city’s ordinance request. Separately, Denver would receive $2,755,503 for services it provides to Denver Health.

The city’s 2027 plan would not restore funding cuts made in 2026 for the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center or Treatment on Demand. Both services are expected to continue without city funding, the committee briefing says.

The agreement lists Denver Cares at $1 for 2027, a nominal allocation rather than an amount that would fund the facility’s operations. Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne described it as a nonmedical detox and treatment facility, not a housing program, serving more than 6,000 people a year. City and Denver Health staff plan to collect and review service data, including how different city agencies use the program, ahead of negotiations for the 2028 agreement. The facility’s level of care is scheduled to change in July 2027.

Jail medical services are outside the proposed agreement and are budgeted under a separate Department of Safety contract. The briefing describes a $5.4 million budget increase for that contract; that figure is an increase, not the contract’s total amount. It also lists about $115 million in other Denver Health funding through Denver Public Health and Environment appropriations, sales-tax funding and other contracts, separate from the proposed agreement.