Denver, CO — Mental Health Colorado is celebrating important progress made during the 2026 legislative session, including the passage of legislation to strengthen mental health protections for youth athletes, while emphasizing that Colorado still has significant work ahead to build a comprehensive continuum of care that truly supports the whole person.
This year’s legislative wins included the passage of Senate Bill 26-060, known as “Alyssa’s Youth Concussion and Mental Health Protection Act,” which requires mental health education for youth sports coaches and strengthens awareness around the mental health impacts of concussions. The bill was named in honor of Alyssa Peterson, a young Colorado athlete who died by suicide following mental health struggles after a concussion.
Mental Health Colorado also worked to pass the following priority bills this session:
- SB26-131: Sports Betting Protections – Establishes common-sense guardrails to curb impulsive online sports betting and protect Coloradans from the financial, emotional, and social harms of problem gambling. It restricts the use of credit cards to fund sports gambling accounts, limits an individual to no more than five deposits within any 24-hour period, restricts advertising designed to induce problem gamblers, requires data collection on the prevalence of problem gambling in Colorado, and creates higher fines for violations and stronger protections against underage gambling.
- HB26-1195: Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions – Establishes important consumer protections around the use of artificial intelligence in mental health care by prohibiting AI from being used or marketed as a substitute for licensed psychotherapy, diagnosis, or treatment planning. This bill protects vulnerable people from the risks of relying on chatbots for mental health treatment while still allowing therapists to responsibly use AI for administrative tasks that can improve patient care.
- SB26-006: Parity for Non-Opioid Pain Management Drugs – Requires health insurers to cover FDA-approved non-opioid pain management drugs on terms that are no more restrictive or expensive for patients than comparable opioid medications, including limits on prior authorization, step therapy, and cost-sharing. This bill helps remove insurance barriers to safer, non-opioid pain treatment options, giving patients and providers more flexibility to manage pain without defaulting to opioids.
“With the help of legislative champions, advocates, providers, families, and people with lived experience, Colorado took important steps forward this year to strengthen mental health supports and improve outcomes for Coloradans,” said Vincent Atchity, President and CEO of Mental Health Colorado. “At the same time, we continue to see far too many people slipping through the cracks because our systems too often intervene only after someone is already in crisis. If we want better outcomes, we need to invest earlier and more effectively in the things that actually support mental well-being: stable housing, affordable health care, food security, community connection, and access to timely services.”
Mental Health Colorado will continue working with lawmakers, advocates, providers, and impacted families to push for policies that improve access to care, reduce unnecessary criminalization of mental illness, and create healthier, more supportive communities across Colorado.