Category: Health and Wellness - Part 10

Opinion: Just how healthy is Colorado?

Dr. Bill Mandell Colorado ranks among the best in nation when it comes to overall health. However the state has some opportunities for improvement, according to the 23nd annual Americas Health Rankings from United Health Foundation. The report, the longest running of its kind in the country, placed Colorado No. 11 among all 50 states for overall heath, up three spots from last year. Heres a snapshot of how Colorado fared: Colorados Strengths Low prevalence of diabetes and obesity: Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the U.S. at 20.7 percent of the population with 805,000 obese adults. Colorado also…

Opinion: Pediatric dental health crucial to long-term success

By Sarah Mapes Colorado ranks 38th in the country for kids who see a dentist regularly. One quarter of all Coloradans are children and only about 3 percent of these 1.2 million children have seen a dentist by age 1. Tooth decay is five times more common than asthma and four times more common than early childhood obesity. Research shows that good oral health is critical to a childs long-term success in life. Unfortunately, the data are not promising for Colorado kids. Tooth decay is almost entirely preventable, and yet around half of our Kindergartners suffer from it. Oral health…

Access to dental care declining in Colorado

By Diane Carman The crisis in access to dental health care in Colorado is growing more severe even as the effort by the state Department of Health and Environment this year continues to highlight improved oral care as one of its 10 winnable battles. A new analysis released Monday by The Colorado Trust found that the number of Coloradans without dental insurance grew 17 percent between 2009 and 2011, and that even people with dental insurance failed to receive care due to cost or a lack of available dental providers. Coloradans need to speak up for the care they need…

Opinion: Colorado must expand access to dental care

By Sara Schmitt It is becoming more difficult for Coloradans to get oral health care. Last Thursday, legislators who attended the Hot Issues in Health Care conference in Colorado Springs, sponsored by the Colorado Health Institute, got a sneak preview of new Colorado Trust report on oral health. Based on findings from the 2011 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS), the report, A Growing Problem: Oral Health Coverage, Access and Usage in Colorado, said there are now more than 2 million Coloradans without dental insurance an increase of 17 percent since the 2009 baseline survey. The survey also found that having…

Opinion: Informed patients essential for better health care

By Dr. David Downs Medical science has advanced at a remarkable pace. We can now replace worn joints and diseased heart valves, open clogged arteries and identify cancers before they become untreatable. We can see into the center of the body with remarkable detail using CT scanners, MRI machines and other technologies all without pain or discomfort. These and many other modern medical miracles are generally viewed as a great benefit to the health of those for whom they are available. And in the American spirit of newer, better and faster, we have taken to these services avidly. It is…

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…

New data tool finds health costs vary wildly

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon An MRI on your knee in Colorado could cost as little as $297 or as much as $1,261 depending on where you get it, according to the first release of health data from a powerful new tool aimed at improving health, bringing down costs and improving the quality of care. On Thursday, Colorado became the 12th state in the nation to unveil an All Payer Claims Database (APCD) with the debut of www.cohealthdata.org managed by the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC). So far, the database includes about 40 percent of health data from…

Opinion: Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado picks top 4 races for women’s health

By Cathy Alderman Women pay attention: your health is on the ballot this fall. In every race, voters will choose either to continue moving forward towards equality or to wind the clock back on womens health. We have the choice between candidates who support a womans right to access birth control and candidates who oppose it and in many cases want to ban abortion out-right with no exceptions for rape or incest. Your vote is more important than ever. Who you elect will steer our state down the path they think is best. Womens access to affordable health care is…

Opinion: Data-driven health care policy goal of CHI

By Michele Lueck As the Colorado Health Institute observes its 10th anniversary this year, we are spending a bit of time looking back but much more time thinking about the future of health care in our state. CHI was founded in 2002 to address a gap in sound health policy data and analysis, particularly independent and impartial information. Today, the need for reliable data and research has never been greater as leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors work to transform Colorado’s health care system – an increasingly costly system that isn’t working as well as it should for nearly…

Public housing project a national model for supporting health

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The woman is missing most of her teeth, but grins like a 6-year-old at a birthday party. Unsteady on her feet, the 48-year-old homeless woman nonetheless proudly describes the meaning of the famous Emanuel Martinez mural outside Denvers La Alma Recreation Center. The young Chicano man is the future. The Indian is our past, says Gina Marie Crespin, who grew up in the Lincoln Park area and now spends her days in the neighborhood park. The eagle is power, Crespin says, pointing to the center of the mural where the soaring birds wings spread to form…