Meeting of interest
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!
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.
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The Business Health Forum is funded by several foundations, including The Colorado Health Foundation.
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.
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Greetings!
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.
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Health costs of illegal immigrants unclear
Agencies that provide health care in Eagle County say they don't know
how much providing their services to illegal immigrants costs.
Many undocumented residents seek health care at either the Eagle Care
Clinic in Edwards or the Vail Valley Medical Center's emergency room,
health providers say. The county is prohibited by state law from
providing most health care benefits to illegal immigrants.
The
county must give immunizations, prenatal care, emergency care, and
labor and delivery, said County Health and Human Services Director Jill
Hunsaker.
The other option for illegal immigrants is the emergency
room. The top emergency room ailments are ear infections, sore throats,
respiratory infections and fevers, Hunsaker said.
That could mean
that the uninsured are using the emergency room as a walk-in clinic,
but the hospital does not know how many of those patients are illegal
immigrants, she said.
When the patient cannot pay, the hospital and Eagle County split the costs. Vail Daily
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Top health care news
Nation's smallest businesses battling health care costs
Amid
rising health care costs, there has been a sharp drop in the percentage
of micro-businesses owners offering coverage to full-time employees.
That's according to Washington, D..C.-based National Association for
the Self-Employed, which recently released results of a survey of
nearly 4,000 micro-businesses. About 19 percent of the respondents said
their health care plans are covering full-time employees this year,
which is down from 46.2 percent in 2005.
A micro-business has 10 or fewer employees. There are 24 million micro-businesses in the U.S., according to the organization.
More than 65 percent of the respondents cited health care costs as the
most significant barrier to offering their employees insurance.
The survey also found that 10 percent of micro-businesses spend 25
percent or more of their revenue on health insurance. That's compared
to the 10.1 percent of revenue the small business owners said they
spent on health care in 2005. National Association for the Self-Employed
U.S. Rep. John Salazar talks long-term health care in Conejos
U.S. Representative John Salazar joined Conejos County Commissioners,
state officials and long-term health care professionals on Monday for a
discussion on providing the southern San Luis Valley with long-term
health care.
Those people attending the session held at the
Conejos County Courthouse were working to find a replacement facility
for the Conejos County Hospital Long Term Care Unit, which has
announced it would be closed by June 30.
Reimbursement was the
main issue that Conejos County Hospital officials cited in announcing
the closure of its Long Term Care Unit. Its patients relied on
Medicaid, which, according to those officials, paid only 23 percent of
the cost, while Medicare payments for hospital patients amount to 101
percent of costs.
Salazar said he would pledge the resources of
his office in the effort to obtain a long term care facility for
Conejos County." Valley Courier
9News puts Polis TV ads on health care through 'truth test'
As part of his campaign for Rep. Mark Udall's seat in Congress,
Democrat Jared Polis is running TV ads on health care. 9News put the ad
through a 'truth test;' below is part of the analysis.
QUOTE:
He'll stand up to the drug companies to lower the cost of prescription
drugs for seniors. And Polis will stand up to the insurance companies
to reduce the cost of health care for everyone
TRUTH: This is
opinion, but it brings up an interesting question. Who's to blame for
rising health care costs? Depending on your experiences with the health
care system, your economic status in life, your professional status and
your age, the answer might be different.
Consumer Reports
recently tried to answer that question in its March issue and found six
different entities culpable for the seemingly inevitable double-digit
increase in health care prices each year. They are: hospitals and
doctors, drug companies, insurers, politicians and government
regulators, lawyers and health care consumers. 9News
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