News - Part 29
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon If Colorado decides to expand Medicaid coverage to a larger percentage of the poor, the the states share could be a billion dollars over the next decade, Attorney General John Suthers warned on Monday. Suthers, who opposed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in court, said during a post-mortem panel discussion on Monday that Colorados governor and lawmakers face a tough decision. The expansion for a lot of states may seem like a no-brainer, Suthers said during a discussion of the Supreme Court ruling sponsored by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce at the Sheraton Denver Downtown….
By Christie McElhinney Is health care in Colorado working? Should every child have health insurance? Do you feel like you have a say in your health care? You probably have seen or heard these questions on TV, radio, in newspapers, on websites or even on a few billboards and passing buses. This campaign – Project Health Colorado – is a public forum that provides Coloradans with the opportunity to ask questions and get information about health coverage and care in our state, and offers the opportunity to be part of a positive conversation about our health care system outside the political fray….
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon AURORA Investments in education would do far more to drive down health care costs than simply reforming the health care system, an expert on social determinants of health said Friday during a visit to Denver. If there was one thing that modern medicine could do to improve health outcomes, it would be to solve the high school dropout problem, said Dr. Steven Woolf, of the Center for Human Needs at Virginia Commonwealth University. Surveys show most people believe that hospitals or access to doctors determines how healthy people are. But, in fact, Woolf and his colleagues…
By Diane Carman Peering into the controversy over routine use of the blood test to screen for the prostate-specific antigen is like falling down, down, down into the dark and bewildering rabbit hole that is the health care system in the United States. In many ways the debate over the PSA test illustrates why the system is so confounding, expensive, unmanageable and resistant to change. As men, their providers and policy experts wrestle with the PSA conundrum, recent battles over mammography and hormone replacement therapy illustrate key lessons. When women learned that there was potential harm from annual breast screening…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Calling U.S. health costs a massive drain on the economy, Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday endorsed bold moves to fight poor health like New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs war on super-sized sugary drinks. Hickenlooper spoke Wednesday to an international conference of wellness experts gathered from more than 40 countries at the Aspen Institute for The Global Spa & Wellness Summit. If you listen to that hum in the distance, sometimes you think thats the ventilation system, but really that sucking noise is the drain on our economy from the health care system. I probably shouldnt say…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon CORTEZ – A large touch-screen monitor on the wall of an exam room flashes a grim health picture. Data charts show that the 14-year-old boy is severely depressed and obese. His blood pressure is high. In the waiting room, he has punched in answers to screening tests on a digital tablet. By the time he arrives in the exam room, the results have been tabulated and are accessible on the monitor. His frank answers reveal a teen who needs help fast. He is suicidal, coping with poor physical health, and abusing alcohol and marijuana. Providers can…
By Kristina Lybecker A shot in the arm for Colorado’s economy may well come from trade decisions made literally on the other side of the globe. Negotiations are continuing on the Trans Pacific Partnership and health care is a key pillar of the talks. Increasingly, economic leaders are using new trade agreements and a means to promote improved health care. The theory is that improved health quality around the world is a vital component to reinvigorating national economies. Why does this matter to Colorado’s economy? For our state, TPP presents an opportunity to protect and grow the state’s bioscience industry,…
By Diane Carman The average American is fat, sedentary, drinks too many sweetened soft drinks, eats too many French fries and knows it all too well. Most people in the U.S. want to lose weight, said Elizabeth Kealey, a registered dietician and professional research assistant at the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. The problem is they just dont know how. Researchers at the center are testing strategies and documenting results, and while they dont claim to have the obesity cure at their fingertips, they have identified several approaches that appear to work for a significant population that wants to lose…