Dr. Irene Aguilar has worked for 23 years as a Primary Care Provider for Denver Health and Hospitals and now serves on their board of directors. During the Interim she practices medicine at Clinica Tepeyac, caring for the uninsured.
Senator Aguilar and her husband, Dr. Thomas Bost, have three children, one of whom has developmental disabilities. This led to her participation in public service and appointment to The Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council. She served on the Vulnerable Populations task force of Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission on health care reform. Learning about health insurance and its effect on health care for Vulnerable Populations led Dr. Aguilar to become an advocate for health care reform.
In November 2010, Dr. Aguilar made a decision to seek public office to advance the cause of universal health care, and was elected to represent Denver’s Senate District 32 in the Colorado General Assembly. She hopes to use this office to ensure access to quality affordable health care for all Coloradans, reinforce the safety net for people with disabilities and revive the American dream for Latinos in Colorado.
In the Colorado Senate, Dr. Aguilar serves as Assistant Majority Leader, she chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, and is Vice-Chair of the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Implementation Review Committee.
Senator Aguilar sponsored legislation to expand Medicaid in Colorado and to align the state’s health laws with the Affordable Care Act. She has worked to ensure those without health insurance receive fair pricing for hospital care. Senator Aguilar has also passed laws to improve the lives of people with disabilities by providing funding for respite, support for applying for social security disability, and a voice at the table.
Combining her background as an internist and as mother of a child with a disability, she has made a concerted effort to focus her legislative efforts on healthcare and disability advocacy. Among her achievements: Attacking the lack of medical attention in rural Colorado head on, Senator Aguilar co-sponsored “SB14-144”, the Family Medicine Residency Programs in Rural Areas bill, extending the commission on family medicine’s support of family medicine residency programs in rural and other underserved areas of the state.
Senator Aguilar also co-sponsored SB 14- 187, Colorado Commission on Affordable Health Care bill, creating a 12-member expert commission to analyze health care in Colorado and make recommendations on how to make health care more affordable to the General Assembly and to the Governor.