Meeting of interest
Hosted by Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Krey/Zeigel Room of the Mesa State College Student Center
Grand Junction
Colo. Health Care Reform:
What's the Employer Response?
We'll
update employers on health care reform efforts and capture their
responses to proposed changes. The Business Health Forum will lead the
discussion.
Join us to review legislative proposals and
recommendations from a blue ribbon commission on health care, and give
us your feedback to take back to the Capitol. The latest survey
technology will capture your opinions - and those of your peers - for
on-the-spot sharing and discussion.
Register for the event online or by calling 970-242-3214.
|
|
The Business Health Forum is funded by several foundations, including The Colorado Health Foundation and The Colorado Trust.
Stay tuned for info. about upcoming business health care forums in your community.
To learn more about the Forum, contact Renee' Mowers at rmowers@bizhealthforum.org or call 303-866-9658.
|
|
|
|
Dear Amy,
As
health insurance premiums continue to soar and Colorado examines
wide-scale health care reform, there has never been a more important
time for the business community to engage in the debate. The Forum is a
new project to help you connect the dots and weigh in on solutions.
|
Health care measures remain on ballot
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 said Wednesday that it
is withdrawing two of four proposed ballot initiatives, but two health
care measures troublesome to the business community remain.
The withdrawal is part of an effort to get business interests to pull their right-to-work measure.
The union is pulling measures that would have mandated annual cost of
living increases for employees at companies with more than 10 workers
and raised businesses' property taxes.. The remaining proposals would
require businesses with 20 or more employees to provide health
insurance for workers and allow injured people to sue employers outside
the workers' compensation system.
In a statement, Denver chamber
President Joe Blake said, "I am delighted that the UFCW Local 7 has
taken the first step away from mutually assured destruction. But Dan
Pilcher, a spokesman for the Colorado Association of Commerce and
Industry, was less conciliatory, saying "they're taking out two, but
the business community is still facing four, and that's not an
attractive position." Rocky Mountain News
|
Top health care news
Colorado health program for kids in disarray, auditors say
The
state program that delivers health care to more than 53,500 needy
children and pregnant women is in administrative disarray, state
auditors said Monday.
A report on the Children's Basic Health Plan
found that 10 percent of patients were classified incorrectly - either
as eligible when they weren't or as ineligible when they were entitled
to services.
Hundreds of people were kept on the program after their eligibility expired - for up to two years in some cases.
The report to the Legislative Audit Committee did not estimate a total
cost of errors in the $106-million-per-year program. However, a
sampling of 203 patients in seven counties produced errors valued at
$48,300 in determining eligibility.
The Department of Health Care
Policy and Financing, which oversees the program, has no controls to
detect fraud and abuse in the 64 county offices that perform most of
the task of enrolling patients, the report found. Nor does the
department monitor the counties as they determine eligibility. Rocky Mountain News
Federal proposal would help small biz with affordable coverage
A wide-ranging coalition of lawmakers and outside interest groups
unveiled a new proposal in Washington Tuesday they said could
kick-start efforts to address the spiraling health care crisis.
The federal legislation would:
- Provide a tax credit to small-business owners who pay 60 percent or more of their employees' premiums.
- Encourage the creation of statewide and nationwide purchasing pools for small businesses and the self-employed.
- Reduce the ability of insurers to raise premiums for small businesses when one employee becomes seriously ill.
The measure has the support of the National Federation of Independent
Business, the National Association of Realtors and the Service
Employees International Union. Those three powerful interest groups
have driven the health care debate in past years - usually in opposite
directions. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislators, others to discuss health care at Fort Collins summit
The 2008 Northern Colorado Business Report HealthCare Summit, scheduled
for June 26, will discuss state legislative efforts around health
insurance and what's ahead for health insurance and medical care in
Colorado.
One panel will be moderated by Pamela Hanes, president
of the Colorado Health Institute, and will include Mark Wallace, M.D.,
Weld County health director, founder of the Northern Colorado Health
Alliance and a member of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on
Health Care Reform or 208 Commission; state Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort
Collins, and Mark Cauthen, risk manager for the city of Colorado
Springs.
The summit will be held at the Fort Collins Marriott, 350
E. Horsetooth Road, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $49 per
person in advance -- $59 per person at the door. Companies may purchase
discounted blocks of five tickets for $220.50 by calling 970-221-5400,
ext. 202.
For online registration, visit www.ncbr..com and click on Events on the left-hand side of the homepage. Registration deadline is June 21. |
|
|