By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon KEYSTONE If Silicon Valley venture capitalists were trying to fix broken health care systems, they would invest in multiple solutions at once and expect most to fail. But they would take action. That was the message from Rebecca Costa, an evolutionary biologist and a keynote speaker at the Colorado Health Symposiumsponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation. In nature, diversification ensures survival. In health care, Costa sees big organizations that want to meet endlessly, hold focus groups, then move tentatively, if at all, as they embark on singular solutions destined to fail at a glacial pace. Singularity…
Category: Health Care Industry - Part 6
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon KEYSTONE Colorado faces daunting challenges in providing a healthy environment for both its oldest and youngest citizens, according to a new report from the Colorado Health Institute. The report, Reaching Our Peak: Creating a Healthier Colorado, assesses how Colorado rates in five major areas that affect health: schools, workplaces, communities, medical providers and places where we age. The Colorado Health Institute unveiled the report at this weeks Colorado Health Symposium, a gathering of state and national health leaders sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation. Colorado scores lowest for healthy aging, according to the reports authors who…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Two ritzy resort counties in Colorado have made a list of the 50 worst counties in the U.S. for working people who are living without health insurance. Eagle County, home to swanky Vail and Beaver Creek, ranked 42nd worst among U.S. counties with nearly 29 percent of people who earn between 138 and 400 percent of the poverty level surviving without health insurance. Garfield County, home to many service workers for Aspen in neighboring Pitkin County, also made the list. Garfield ranked 48th worst in the U.S. with about 28.5 percent of working people lacking health…
By Donna Smith As health systems around the world grapple with the increasing costs of providing health care for their citizens, far too many are considering more extensive privatization of their systems to emulate the U.S. health care model. This is a mistake not only from an economic perspective but also from a human rights and public health position. As one of the people deeply injured by the profit-driven U.S. health system and as a professional advocate for a universal, public model that provides health care without financial barrier, I know that more privatization of any health system allows for…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon One of Colorados largest health insurance companies has reversed itself and is now covering care for transgender patients. Kelly Costello, 32, of Denver, received stunning news last week. One day after getting a formal notice that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado would not cover chest reconstruction surgery, the company abruptly overturned its decision. Costello received a written notice that Anthem has reversed its decision and now will cover some or all of the services. Costello had paid about $8,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for the surgery he underwent in April. Costello is overjoyed. Im…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Colorado will get another $116 million to help launch the states new health exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Federal cuts known as sequestration chopped $9 million from the states $125 million request. Last month, exchange CEO and Executive Director Patty Fontneau said that some programs may have to withstand higher cuts than others because managers already have signed contracts for services or technology so they cannot spread the cuts evenly across all programs. Myung Oak Kim, director of communications and outreach for the exchange, said the cuts shouldnt impact customers. The reduction in the grant due…
By Bob Semro The decision last week to delay implementation of the Affordable Care Acts employer mandate has received lots of attention. Pundits and proponents and opponents of the ACA have argued over the decision. Some pointed to the delay and said it is proof of a train wreck in implementing the health care law. Others said the delay wont mean much at all in the long run. What was missing from the (mostly) political debate was a thorough explanation of the mandate, officially known as the employer responsibility provision. Simply put, the employer-responsibility provision will require some businesses to…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The Obama Administration may be hitting the brakes on a key component of health reform, but Colorado is pushing the accelerator. Colorado exchange managers have no plans to tinker with the states small business or individual health exchange. To be honest with you, we cant undo our plan, Patty Fontneau, CEO and executive director of Colorados exchange, said during an exchange board meeting on Monday. To not offer choice would cripple us. The Obama Administration last week postponed for one year the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance across-the-board or face…
By Diane Carman Its much easier to develop innovative health care initiatives in Colorado because were not having the conversation about whos the biggest Bolshevik, said U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet at the opening of the Healthy Transitions Colorado collaborative Monday. The goal of the collaborative over the next few years is to save $80 million in health care costs, prevent 8,700 hospital re-admissions and keep people out of the hospital a cumulative 34,000 days, Bennet said, all the while providing greater care for the people you serve and the people I serve. Because Coloradans have shown a willingness to address…
By Robert Smith Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinharts strident New York Times editorial about the ultimate party responsible for out-of-control health care costs properly emphasizes the employers crucial role in the health care system. U.S companies, nonprofits and government entities pay for the majority of our health care costs. They have been the sloppiest purchasers of health care in the world, he writes, because they have passively paid for just about every health care bill put in front of them. Employer passivity has supported an opaque and chaotic pricing system, inappropriate incentives, rampant medical inflation, waste and lagging quality. Employers…