Category: Health Care Industry - Part 15

Governor officiated at TriZetto exec’s wedding

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Gov. John Hickenlooper officiated at the Beaver Creek wedding of a TriZetto executive on May 28 weeks before naming controversial TriZetto appointee Eric Grossman to Colorados new health exchange board. The governors spokesman, Eric Brown, said Hickenlooper performed the wedding on behalf of the bride, Kasia Iwaniczko, who is a longtime friend. The wedding took place at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. Through Brown, the governor said he had not met the groom, David MacLeod, or known where he worked until the couple came to Hickenloopers office for a 15-minute meeting in May to discuss plans for…

Former board president challenges sale of hospitals

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon A former board president and negotiator of the original hospital sale that created the Colorado Health Foundation is warning that the foundation could lose control of $1.45 billion in profits from its current proposed sale of seven hospitals and should cancel the deal. Dick Anderson, who was chairman of the joint venture board that ran the hospitals from 1995 to 2000, filed comments with Colorados attorney general on Thursday. He believes that the original intent of the deal was to protect community assets, not to serve as an investment engine for the Colorado Health Foundation. Anderson…

Opinion: Deficit-reduction plans target
 provider fees, Medicaid support

By Bob Semro The Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 is one of Colorados most effective reforms, but the program it fostered could be in jeopardy because budget-cutters in Washington are targeting the federal funding that makes the act work. As talks continue on deficit reduction and increasing the debt ceiling, a number of proposals are zeroing in on the federal matching funds that cover hospital provider fees and help support Medicaid funding. Colorado is not alone among states that could lose funds. The Health Care Affordability Act, with the agreement and support of state legislators and the Colorado Hospital…

Opinion: Businesses, communities key to health care debate

By Anne Warhover Theres been a lot of talk both fiery rhetoric and thoughtful discourse on the national stage about fixing health care since Congress and President Obama took a crack at overhauling the entire system last year. Fast-forwarding to mid-2011, health care reform is moving along, but many key provisions still face legislative, judicial and budgetary scrutiny not to mention an onslaught of partisan bickering and negative ads from both sides of the political aisle. Whether the pillars of the Affordable Care Act and the health care debate succeed in expanding access, improving quality and reducing costs, one fact…

Steak or scallops? Hospitals add luxuries to attract the well-heeled

By Myung Oak Kim Concierge service. Jacuzzi tubs. Bacon-wrapped scallops or New York strip steak prepared by professionally-trained chefs and brought to your room. These amenities can be found at most new hospitals in Colorado and across the country. Gone are the days of sterile, white hallways, fluorescent lights and cloth curtains separating patients in the same room. The newest hospitals offer bountiful natural light, warm-colored walls and floors, soothing art and private patient rooms with large windows and relaxation videos. Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree features fireplaces on every floor. Childrens Hospital Colorado in Aurora offers video…

More calls for resignations of “insider” from industry-heavy health board

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon A second large consumer group representing 500,000 Coloradans joined the call Tuesday for the resignation of a health industry insider from Colorados new health exchange board. The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative called on Eric Grossman, vice president of strategy and government affairs for TriZetto, a Greenwood Village health IT company, to step down from the nine-member board. Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Grossman to serve as on the board that will design a new online health insurance marketplace for Colorado by Jan. 1, 2014. He was supposed to be one of the non-industry appointees, but consumer groups…

Opinion: Mammography guidelines have chilling effect on breast cancer screening

By Lara Hardesty, M.D. New studies show that women in their 40s are getting mammograms less frequently after much-publicized new guidelines came out in 2009. I am greatly concerned that these guidelines are subjecting women to unnecessary risk. I have been director of Breast Imaging at the University of Colorado since 2005 and have been sub-specializing in all aspects of breast imaging (mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, breast needle biopsies) since 1997. As such, I recommend annual screening mammography for my patients beginning at age 40, as recommended by the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology. In…

Insurance for sickest patients costs over $12 million in first year

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon A new health insurance program for Coloradans with pre-existing conditions has enrolled just 800 people in its first year, but is costing much more than expected: more than $12 million so far. Under the Affordable Care Act, Colorado is due to receive $90 million for its new high-risk health pool called GettingUSCovered.Actuaries predicted that 4,000 people would participate in the program between July of last year and January 2014, when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect and insurance companies can no longer turn down people who have suffered previous illnesses. Nationwide, high-risk health pools…

Opinion: Getting US Covered celebrates first anniversary

By Marguerite Salazar The Colorado community will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the GettingUSCovered health plan on July 1. GettingUSCovered is a Colorado-specific program under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that provides comprehensive health insurance for eligible uninsured Coloradans with a pre-existing condition who have gone without coverage for six months. This new health plan is designed to act as a temporary bridge to 2014 when Americans will have access to affordable health insurance choices through a competitive marketplace called an exchange. Also, in 2014, thanks to the new consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act,…

Hickenlooper names Jim Riesberg Insurance Commissioner

Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, will resign his House seat on Thursday to become Colorados new insurance commissioner starting Friday, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced on Monday. Jim has deep experience as a legislator and public servant. He also has a distinguished career in the insurance, human resources and private sectors, Hickenlooper said in a prepared statement. He shares our commitment to an ethic of outstanding customer service and we are pleased to have him as the new commissioner. Riesberg will replace John J. Postolowski, who was appointed as interim insurance commissioner on December 1. Postolowski joined the Division of Insurance in…