Category: Opinion - Part 13

Opinion: Time is now to build a model health exchange

By Steve ErkenBrack The complexity of purchasing health insurance has become almost overwhelming. What will you need? Whats a fair price? Is the lowest price the best value? How can you evaluate the quality of coverage? Large employers have human resources departments to sort through the maze of choices, but no such help exists to simplify the choices for individuals and small employers. Brokers do a terrific job, but the panoply of options and the uniqueness of each consumer defy simplification. For that reason, every serious health care reform effort in recent years has recommended the development of a health…

Opinion: The false promise of health care compacts

By Bob Semro The latest buzzword among those determined to undermine federal involvement in everything from health care to environmental regulation is compact. Take, for example, House Bill 1273 (the so-called HOPE Act), which recently passed the Colorado House and will be heard in the Senate early this week. It is supposed to be about allowing Colorado to design the health care regulatory regime that best meets the needs of its citizens. In reality, its about opting out of the national health care reform law with nothing to replace it. The idea for HB 1273 didnt originate in Colorado, and…

Opinion: A critical moment to oppose health exchange

By Sen. Shawn Mitchell I see just a few problems with Senate Bill 200 to create a Colorado health insurance exchange: the policy, the drafting, and the politics. Otherwise, it’s a great idea. Proponents argue exchanges will create an insurance marketplace where insurers and consumers can interact in an open and competitive market with convenient comparisons and easy shopping. Most activists for limited government and health care freedom see a different picture:  Lucy holding the football and beckoning gullible Charlie Brown for one more kick. There are good reasons for such wholesome pessimism. Liberty activists start with the observation America…

Opinion: Health care integration = WHOLE health care

By Donald J. Mares It is no secret that there is a strong connection between the mind and body. Religious leaders, philosophers, doctors and many others have discussed the mind/body connection for centuries. Yet the treatment of mental and physical health has been compartmentalized in modern Western medicine. In the United States, there are two systems of care: the behavioral health system and the physical health system. These systems are perpetuated through insurance reimbursements, through laws, medical education and many other cultural and social institutions. The distinction between mental and physical health is both a product and promoter of the…

Opinion: Coping with Alzheimer’s a reality we all must face

By Zeik Saidman We lied, kidnapped, abandoned and then manacled and drugged my mother-in-law. At least this is the way my wife describes the experience of placing her mother in a nursing home. True, we did use the therapeutic fib (Alzheimers experts use this concept) to lure her to the nursing home facility. We told my mother-in-law that she was going to visit with the nice man who had come to her home to talk about senior services in the area. In actuality, he was the director of the Alzheimers unit and his visit was to conduct an assessment for…

Opinion: Colorado’s Health Care “Affordability Act” should be repealed

By Dr. Linda Gorman This year’s budget hearing documents show that officials at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing rate a piece of legislation, the 2009 Colorado Health Care Affordability Act, as their most effective program. Official response to HB11-1025, a bill introduced to repeal the tax levied by the act, will make it clear whether state officials seek to serve Colorado citizens or special interests seeking to prey upon them. If truth in advertising applied to legislation, the act’s title would have landed someone in jail. In its first year, it raised health care costs by levying $340.9…

Opinion: Colorado’s Health Care “Affordability Act” should be repealed

By Dr. Linda Gorman This years budget hearing documents show that officials at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing rate a piece of legislation, the 2009 Colorado Health Care Affordability Act, as their most effective program. Official response to HB11-1025, a bill introduced to repeal the tax levied by the act, will make it clear whether state officials seek to serve Colorado citizens or special interests seeking to prey upon them. If truth in advertising applied to legislation, the acts title would have landed someone in jail. In its first year, it raised health care costs by…

Opinion: Suicide prevention: moving to inter-dependence

By Jarrod Hindman, M.S. Ask for help if you need it. Say yes to someone who asks you. Those two simple things can help to reduce the frequency of suicide, which claims more lives in Colorado than do motor vehicle crashes, homicide, breast cancer and diabetes. Research has shown that people who are suicidal do not want to end their life. Rather, they want to end their pain. If a caring person can listen without judgment, talk with them about their suicidal feelings, and get them connected to professional help, there is a great opportunity to save a life. We…

Opinion: Reducing late preterm births good medicine, public policy

By William W. Hay, Jr., MD In 2003, 12.3 percent of births in the United States were preterm (less than 38 completed weeks of gestation). This represents a 31 percent increase in the preterm birth rate since 1981. As of 2010, the U.S. preterm birth rate has not declined significantly. The largest contribution to the increase in preterm births is from births between 34 and 38 completed weeks of gestation (term is after 38 weeks), known as late preterm births. Late preterm births have been increasing over at least the past two decades to a much greater extent than earlier…

Opinion: What’s wrong with letting Mother Nature take her course?

By Abby Burton Induction of labor rates in the United States are increasing. This increase is driven by pregnant women and their families and by obstetric providers. Women have many reasons for wanting an induction of labor. Some are anxious and excited to meet the new family member; some are extremely uncomfortable as their girth and weight increase; some have such busy lives that theyd love to be able to schedule the birth as they would schedule a dinner party; some fear the process of labor and want it behind them.Some providers also encourage a scheduled induction of labor. A…