By Adela Flores-Brennan and Gretchen Hammer The legislature recently sent a bill to the governor that represents a step in the wrong direction for Colorados children. SB 213 creates monthly premiums in the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program for kids who have family incomes between 206 percent and 250 percent of poverty. These are families of four who earn about $46,000 to $56,000 a year. As a matter of public policy and as a matter of fiscal policy, SB 213 makes little sense and is indeed harmful. The bill will add to the number of uninsured children in Colorado,…
Category: Trends In Health Care - Part 15
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…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Colorados health insurance exchange bill is sailing toward final approval with backers hailing the measure as the only successful bipartisan exchange legislation in the country. The measure garnered initial approval in Colorados Republican-controlled House on Tuesday evening. It will need final approval in both the House and Senate, but backers are confident that they will win final passage on what theyre calling landmark legislation. Democratic Gov. John Hickenloopers aides quietly have muscled lawmakers into supporting the bill behind the scenes and the governor is expected to sign the measure. An unprecedented bipartisan coalition of business advocates,…
By Diane Carman Colorado once again laid claim to being the fittest of the 50 states in 2010 with an obesity rate of 19.1 percent well below the national figure of 34 percent. When the statistics were released last summer, the chorus of self-congratulations could be heard from the Cherry Creek trail to the top of Mount Bierstadt. Behind those numbers lurks the specter of a far different future for the state, however. Childhood obesity here appears to be out of control. Lisa Piscopo, vice president of research for the Colorado Childrens Campaign, crunched the latest numbers from the National…
By Rebecca Jones EdNewsColorado Keeping kids thin and fit is no small order in 2011. Schools experiment with countless ideas to battle childrens obesity. Theyve tried cooking classes, nutrition education, inviting kids to work in school gardens, improving cafeteria food, banning sugary snacks. Theyve upgraded playgrounds, tinkered with recess, mandated daily physical activity, organized bike clubs and revised physical education standards. Theyve coached parents, coached teachers, coached lunch ladies, coached coaches. Yet for all the different approaches, the empirical evidence proving what works and what doesnt is remarkably sketchy. Evidence-based anti-obesity programs that repeated studies have proven effective simply dont…
By Diane Carman Dr. Daniel Feiten has been shepherding babies and their parents through the challenges of childhood and adolescence for more years than he cares to count. He is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he received the Career Teaching Scholar Award in 2009. He is one of the founders of Greenwood Pediatrics, one of the largest practices in Colorado. And, to his dismay mostly out of necessity he has become an expert on childhood obesity. So lets start with a little good news. Its my favorite success story, he said….
By Diane Carman Colorado once again laid claim to being the fittest of the 50 states in 2010 with an obesity rate of 19.1 percent well below the national figure of 34 percent. When the statistics were released last summer, the chorus of self-congratulations could be heard from the Cherry Creek trail to the top of Mount Bierstadt. Behind those numbers lurks the specter of a far different future for the state, however. Childhood obesity here appears to be out of control. Lisa Piscopo, vice president of research for the Colorado Childrens Campaign, crunched the latest numbers from the National…
Just call me liar of the year Reprinted with permission from Kaiser Health News ByMichael F. Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Tomorrow night, President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a chamber that just voted overwhelmingly to repeal his health care law. Before you believe anything I might have to say about that, however, theres something you should know: I am a liar. Just before the holidays, the fact-checking journalists at PolitiFact.com gave their Lie of the Year award to the claim that ObamaCare is a government takeover of health care.Backed…
Doctor asks, Why did you come to the ERtoday? This question emphasizingtoday is common practice in emergency departments helps us figure out how urgent a patients illness might be. But its a loaded question. Rephrased, it could easily mean, Do youreally believe you are seriously ill, or is it just that you couldnt wait to see a regular doctor? Read the full report from Time.
The Houston hospital where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is being treated is one of the few hospitals in the country using cognitive rehabilitation therapy. The Pentagons health program, Tricare, hasrefused to cover cognitive rehabilitation therapy for the tens of thousands of service members who have suffered brain injuries in the line of duty. Read the report from ProPublica.