Monthly Archives: April 2013

Opinion: Health care just around the corner

By Francis M. Miller Indeclaring Americanindependence, our founders sought to eliminate two perverse forms of tyranny that had ruled private lives for centuries. The monarchy and the church had become corrupt andwere oppressive. My great-great-grandfather immigrated from Poland. Peasants therewere not even allowed to pick up dead tree limbs for firewood. As Walter McDougall, the historian, wrote in Freedom Just Around the Corner, these medieval systems were never reformed. They werereplaced when the peasants dropped their hoes, walked out of the fields andboarded ships to America. The18th centurymindset of ourfounding fathers did not envision predatory global corporations or the massive…

Medicaid expansion moves toward passage without Republicans

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon A bill that would expand Medicaid to about 200,000 more low-income Coloradans continues to move through the Colorado legislature without support from Republicans in the House. Bill sponsor and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said Medicaid expansion would boost Colorados economy by $4.4 billion and add up to 22,000 jobs by 2026 while saving taxpayers money in the long run. Ferrandino sold Medicaid expansion as a measure that is winning support from Republican governors around the country. But in Colorado, members of the GOP are not biting. While no opponents spoke against the bill just like…

Hidden gun injuries “routine” among children

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The horror of 20 children being shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School shocked the nation and the world. But Colorado researchers who initially set out to study playground accidents found that gun violence is harming children every day. Very few people know about these gun injuries because federal law has prohibited funding for research on gun accidents and fatalities. The Colorado researchers combed through every single injury over an eight-year period at Denvers two primary trauma hospitals that serve children, Denver Health and Childrens Hospital Colorado. They expected to find information about playground injuries…

Mediator to triage health exchange problems

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Sparring between Colorados Medicaid managers and those building the states new health exchange prompted an outside analyst to recommend a third party to triage and manage the project. A mediator from the New Jersey-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation now will come to Colorado to help managers get the giant multi-million dollar project off the ground on time by Oct. 1 when its slated to open to consumers. Complicating tight launch deadlines is that Colorado lawmakers set up the states new online health insurance marketplace as an independent public entity, not a state agency. According to a…

Opinion: A role model inspires a model health care system

By Dr. Shelley Dworet Back in the 1960s when I first thought about becoming a pediatrician, I was in my mid-teens.I asked my own pediatrician, a woman who had known me since birth, if I could shadow her for a day. What an experience to watch her see patients at Brigham Women and Childrens Hospital in Boston, then follow her back to her elegant office in Brookline. Behind the closed doors of her private space, her desk was piled with charts and letters, and journals stacked on the floor and chairs.All at once, I didnt feel so guilty about the…

Fight for universal care just beginning

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Sen. Irene Aguilar, D-Denver, withdrew her universal health care bill but has no intention of giving up the fight. This is Step One, Aguilar said. This is going to be a long process. Aguilar introduced a different measure calling for a study of universal care. That measure, SJR 13-021, passed the Senate and now moves to the House. Aguilar has twice introduced measures into the Colorado Legislature both in 2010 and this year seeking universal health care only to face a buzz saw of opposition from health insurance and business lobbyists. This year, Aguilar hoped to…

Colorado clarifying involuntary hold laws

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Colorado is the only state in the country where three separate laws govern the actions of police, emergency doctors, mental health and substance abuse experts when patients appear to be a danger to themselves or others and need to be held against their will for 72 hours. A new law winding its way through the legislature, HB 13-1296, for the first time defines key terms related to involuntary holds including danger to self or others and what it means to be gravely disabled because of a mental health crisis. Originally intended to meld and clarify the…

Opinion: Growth in senior population requires attention to health care needs

By Denali Johnson Colorado has one of the fastest growing aging populations in the U.S. Currently, one in nine Coloradans is a senior citizen. By the year 2030, that will increase to about one in five. While Colorado historically has had one of the smallest percentages of seniors, our annual growth rate is now 3 percent above the national average. The increasing number and percent of older adults in Colorado presents new opportunities and challenges to communities across the state. With the baby boomer generation aging, a larger number of active older adults will be available to contribute to the…

Attacks from left and right undermine gun bill on mental health

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon As Adam Lanza fired 154 shots from a rifle, mowing down 20 first graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a group of gun control advocates and law enforcement officers happened to be meeting in Colorado to craft legislation to curb gun violence here. Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, who lost her son to a 2005 shooting, and Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, a former prosecutor and Denver manager of safety, both attended the Dec. 15 meeting. The news from Newtown, Conn., was fresh and shocking. Heartbreaking updates came in spurts on phones. No one knew…

‘Risks’ loom for health exchange technology

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon As Colorados health exchange managers sprint toward an October 1 launch, a top manager warned board members on Monday that a recent decision to build a new eligibility IT system poses the greatest risk of delay and could undermine the quality of the online health marketplace. Adele Work, who is leading implementation for the exchange, made a presentation about key implementation risks during a technology update for the board. No. 1 on that list of risks is the new decision to divide one planned IT system into two. The report to the board said that IT…