By Margie Ball Cook, RN, Ph.D. Colorados seniors are benefiting as never before from prescription drugs that are saving and prolonging their lives and uplifting the quality of those lives. And believe it or not, a federal program Medicare Part D has played a pivotal role in that success. Part D saves U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars, stimulates investment in breakthrough pharmaceutical research, and is immensely popular among some 30 million Americans who take advantage of it. Its not often you can say that about any government effort, and Medicares singularly successful Part D program represents a distinct exception. Enacted…
Category: Health and Wellness - Part 8
By Sam Cole As the gun debate heats up in Colorado, it is victims of domestic violence who could be most affected by its outcome. On Monday, a Senate panel approved a bill that would require domestic violence offenders to relinquish their guns if a restraining order had been filed against them. When an offender has easy access to guns, there is nothing more dangerous for a victim. In a fit of rage or the heat of the moment, a womans life can end in an instant. There are 300 million guns in our country, enough for every man, woman…
By Cari Frank An email with the subject line Patients Prefer High Cost Care came through my inbox a few weeks ago. It was spurred by a recent study in Health Affairs revealing that patients would typically select a higher cost service like an MRI over a lower cost CT scan even after being educated on the marginal difference between the results. As a part of CIVHCs Colorado All Payer Claims Database team, Im working to develop publicly available consumer information on cost and quality for health care services. The primary purpose of the patient focused information (planned for release…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon No doubt you have heard the recent news that the Mediterranean diet can improve your health and save lives. The results published in the New England Journal of Medicinewere so striking that the researchers ended their study early. They concluded that the only ethical choice was to encourage all study participants to eat a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits, vegetables and plenty of wine. New York Times foodie Mark Bittman summed up the findings with a simple prescription: Eat like a Greek. When I read Bittmans advice, I wanted to know more….
By Dr. Greg Mann The next time you read news reports about rising health care costs, consider this: Some 39,000 Coloradans sought treatment last year at hospital emergency rooms for toothaches and other dental problems. Such unnecessary and expensive emergency room care affects all of us by contributing to health care costs. An estimated $2 million to $5 million could be saved each year in Colorado by preventing needless emergency room visits through timely dental care. Most hospital emergency rooms simply arent equipped or staffed to provide the ideal treatment for dental problems. Typically, the emergency room can offer a…
By Sofia Griffin High school isnt the place where the worlds or even our own countrys problems are the main topic in the hallways. Sometimes I wonder why my teachers always told me that they were going to prepare me for the outside world, but failed to explain crucial problems in our society. For example, besides my personal struggles with health care, I never had to think about our health care system in high school. Get Healthy SLV has been educating the freshmen health class of the Alamosa High School about access to health issues. Our activities range from lectures…
By Diane Carman The debate over whats to blame for gun violence easy access to guns or lack of access to mental health care ensued in earnest Tuesday night, with intense partisans from both sides in the audience erupting in applause frequently throughout a forum in Denver. Its unlikely that many minds were changed by the time the 90-minute standoff ended in what appeared to be a draw. But the debate highlighted the heated controversy that is being played out across the country as states and the federal government consider gun control bills and mental health care measures in the…
By Dr. Christian Thurstone Because Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed me to serve on a task force charged with recommending to the state legislature how to implement a constitutional amendment making recreational marijuana use legal in this state, I have become more aware of potential harms to public health and safety that Coloradans should know about. In the interest of full disclosure, I have not hidden my thoughts about marijuana legalization. It is wrong not only for the health and well-being of Colorado, but for our nation and I have every reason to believe many people will learn this the…
By Donna Smith It isnt often that I learn a new word in the health care system discussion, but this week I did. Churning. I was at a meeting here in Colorado where I have taken on a new role in advocating and administering for a publicly financed, universal, single-payer system with Health Care for All Colorado.And the definition of churning I learned is a sad commentary on a system that still allows access to care based on inequality of coverage that leaves so many people suffering and tens of thousands dying in America every year. Churning is the policy…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Spend less on health care and much more on preschool. Thats the prescription that an international expert on health disparities gave Thursday in Denver to help reverse inequities that leave low-income racial and ethnic minorities much sicker and facing shorter life expectancies than wealthier whites. Health care should get less (funding) and education should get more, said Dr. Paula Braveman. Early childhood development should get the lions share. Having a strong social safety net would make health indicators look a lot better. Braveman is director of the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University…