Monthly Archives: November 2012

HIV cases down, risky behavior up

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon AIDS killed scores of David Lipsons close friends, an adored partner and even his own brother. One of the first men in the nation to be tested for HIV back in 1984, David Lipson received the same terrible test results that ensnared so many of his friends. Then 26 and living in Los Angeles, Lipson learned he was HIV positive and his doctor told him he would die within two years. HIV infection rates are down 45 percent in Denver from 2005. Rates could decrease further if more men engaged in safe sex. Source: Dr. Mark…

Colorado’s health exchange must pay for itself by 2015

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon While some states are still wrestling over whether to build their own health exchanges, Colorado is playing hurry-up offense, tackling major policy decisions including the biggest one on the horizon: how to pay for the online health insurance marketplace. Now a reality across the country as the Affordable Care Act steams toward full implementation, health exchanges are supposed to make it easier for individuals and small business owners to choose and buy health insurance plans. Some people will qualify for government subsidies to help them afford insurance while exchanges will funnel others into public health insurance…

Colorado tab for Medicaid expansion $858 million

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Colorado would have to pay $858 million to expand Medicaid over the next 10 years, but authors of a new national study say states that participate will bring in billions in federal cash and will dramatically cut the number of uninsured. If all states opt to expand Medicaid, the U.S. could cut the ranks of the uninsured by 21 million people or about 48 percent, the study authors found. They estimated that states would have to fund increases of about 3 percent in their Medicaid budgets or $76 billion nationwide while federal spending would increase by…

Senator, doctor, champion for the vulnerable

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The mother laces her fingers through her daughters hands, holding her in her lap. She sings to calm her while a medical assistant straps a blood pressure cuff around the girls arm. Amy gets nervous going to the doctor. Countless strokes that she suffered in utero 18 years ago have left her blind and severely developmentally disabled. At just over 100 pounds, she is petite, but still much too big for her mothers lap. Even so, her mom, state Sen. Irene Aguilar, a primary care doctor herself and a Denver Democrat, knows well how to soothe…

Opinion: With health reform moving forward, costs remain an issue

By Dr. Ted Norman Here we are, billions of political ads later, facing the same challenges from before the election. In health care, now that the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional and it is unlikely to be repealed, the work starts on implementation and discussion about health insurance exchanges. In simple terms, exchanges are brokers for insurances companies set up by government or private companies. In Colorado, for example, an exchange board has been developed to solicit bids from insurance companies that meet a specified level of benefits and cost. The general public can then go to…

Opinion: VA system inadequate to meet veterans’ health care needs

By Gretchen Hammer The experience of military service can have a profound impact on a veterans life. I have listened as the veterans in my family recount with pride their service to our great country and with pain some of the difficult experiences of combat. The sacrifices they and our family made are real, and a real testament to their commitment to our country. As we come together to celebrate Veterans Day it is important that we consider how we might repay this commitment with a promise of our own: The promise of access to high-quality, affordable health care. Understanding…

Now in control, Colorado Democrats want Medicaid expansion

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Tuesdays election results ensure that implementation of Obamacare will proceed on a fast track in Colorado and Democratic lawmakers want to move ahead with Medicaid expansion that could bring health coverage to nearly a quarter million low-income Coloradans. We would like to push to get health care to as many people as possible because thats going to reduce the costs for everyone, said Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, who is expected to take the reins of the Colorado House in January after Democrats recaptured control of it on Tuesday. Gov. John Hickenlooper is more circumspect. While he…

Opinion: Medicaid cuts would harm children and families the most

By Ballard Pritchett Medicaid, not Medicare, is the real Obama-Romney divide. Medicaid is one of the most cost-effective programs by which Americans receive health insurance and is far better than private health insurance at holding down costs. In contrast, millions of people using the health care system without health insurance increases health care costs for everyone in an uncontrolled manner. Covering people under Medicaid and its related health plan, Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), improves the American health care system and saves money overall. The Affordable Care Act will build upon the success of Medicaid and the health care safety…

Opinion: Data and quality measures essential for better health care

By Ned Calonge This week we saw the first presentation of the Colorado All Payer Claims Database, a project of the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) that is jointly funded by the Colorado Health Foundation and The Colorado Trust. We at The Trust believe that the claims and costs data collected through the APCD, as well as specific measures of quality, will provide an essential missing part of the spectrum of data needed to inform health care decisions by business leaders, policymakers, providers, payers and, of course, health care consumers. The Affordable Care Act goes a long…

Better primary care saves Colorado $20 million

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon An experiment to ensure that complex Medicaid patients have a regular doctor and care coordinators who can help them stay healthy has saved Colorado an estimated $20 million in its first year, according to a new report from Colorados Medicaid managers. Were very happy that its moving in the right direction, said Laurel Karabatsos, director of health programs for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). So far, about 20 percent of Colorados more than 600,000 Medicaid clients are enrolled in the program called the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC). Our goal over the…