Representative Rebekah Stewart
Hometown: Lakewood, CO
Why did you choose to pursue a career in the legislature?
I spent over 10 years working in clinical practice as a board-certified music therapist. I was a Medicaid provider here in Colorado and got involved in my professional association’s government affairs committee. I had the realization one day that though I was having a significant positive impact on the 25-50 folks I worked with in any given week, state policy made this access possible for them. There was a space to use my experience to create policy that impacted thousands of Coloradans, and that felt really important to pursue.
What surprised you the most about working as a legislator?
Things move very quickly during the legislative session. Prior to that, I had served on the Lakewood City Council. We met once/week, had at least two weeks in between hearings on important legislation and had the space to focus on one or two issues at a time. That is VERY different than the legislature. It really drove home how important it is to use the time in between legislative sessions (called the interim) to research, stake-hold, and write thoughtful policy so that it is in a good place and ready to go come January.
What is the biggest similarity or difference in your career as a State Representative compared to working as a board-certified music therapist?
I always say that having a background in a therapeutic or human services profession is invaluable as a public servant. One thing that never changes wherever you are is the complexity of working with people: even in the legislature!
If you could change one thing about healthcare in Colorado, what would it be?
I wish different sectors of healthcare would not be so frequently pitted against each other when creating policy. We are all working towards the same goal—ensuring that everyone has access to the quality and lifesaving care that they need. For example, providers getting paid what they deserve does not have to be antithetical to patient affordability. I don’t think we’ve cracked the code yet, but I deeply believe we get better solutions when we work together.
What do you consider your greatest achievement in the legislature?
Well, I’ve only been there for one session so far, so I hope I haven’t peaked already! I am really proud of how I’ve been able to work with so many different people and bring understanding of the problems we’re trying to solve even if there is disagreement on the solution. One good example of that is our ER claims batching bill. Ultimately, though it did not get to the Governor’s desk this year, folks opposed to the bill came to me after the session and said this was the first time they were able to understand the billing problems we were trying to solve and offered to help work on a solution together in the future. That still feels like a small victory.