A bill that sought to criminalize incentives that might be paid to claim handlers for denying claims in Colorado failed to make it out of the state's House of Representatives.

The bill, SB 09-103, would have added the following language to Colorado's unfair claim settlement practices act as a deceptive practice: "The act of providing any pay, salary, rewards, bonus, promotion, or other financial incentive to any person involved in the review of a claim for benefits or to persons performing utilization review, in connection -- directly or indirectly -- with the denial of a claim made by an insured or claimant or the cancellation of an insurance policy."

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, and Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora. It was originally introduced to the Senate in late January 2009, passed by the Senate with amendments on March 20, then passed again on March 23. However, on March 30, a House Committee on Health and Human Services postponed the bill indefinitely, effectively killing the measure.