Colorado SB 26-189: Why HIPAA-Covered AI Deployers Lost Their Exemption
On May 14, 2026, Governor Jared Polis signed SB 26-189 into law, scaling back the Colorado AI Act ahead of its February 2026 effective date. The revised statute drops the broad HIPAA covered-entity exemption that the original act carried and replaces it with a narrower carve-out tied to a specific "consequential decision" test. Clinical AI deployers in Colorado who assumed they were out of scope now have to map the systems that influence diagnosis, treatment selection, or coverage decisions against the new criteria. The effective date moves to January 1, 2027, with a 60-day Attorney General cure period. This article walks through what changed, which clinical AI systems pick up new obligations, and the per-decision evidence the new regime will expect.