Meeting of interest
 Hosted in Carbondale
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
There is no charge for event.
Aspen Glen Club
0545 Bald Eagle Way, Carbondale
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 &
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.
RSVP by contacting the Carbondale Chamber at 970-963-1890 or email chamber@carbondale.com.
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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.
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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.
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Mixed reviews on new state health care laws
Democratic state lawmakers proclaimed victory for health care consumers
Tuesday, the first day several health care laws passed earlier this
year took effect.
In a news conference on the state Capitol's west
steps, the lawmakers highlighted bills requiring medical insurance
companies to get state approval before raising premiums and three other
bills they said will improve access to medical treatment for the poor
and elderly and those living in rural areas.
They were among the approximately 50 bills dealing with health care that the legislature passed this year, lawmakers said.
Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said the bills will help close the gap
between those who are insured and those who aren't. "We have made more
historic gains arguably this year than we have in decades in closing
that gap," Carroll said..
But House Assistant Minority Leader
David Balmer said the Democrats' plans likely will backfire. The added
regulatory hurdles for insurance companies, he said, will likely result
in higher health care costs across Colorado. Denver Post
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Top health care news
Colorado doctors fear costs of cuts to Medicare reimbursements
Local
doctors who treat Medicare patients have found themselves in the middle
of a federal fight that could strain their budgets and make it more
difficult to treat older patients.
At issue is a two-week delay in
Medicare payments ordered by the Bush Administration that went into
effect Tuesday. During the delay, doctors will see a gap in
reimbursement payments for patients on Medicare, the federal insurance
program for people aged 65 and older.
Ultimately, the dispute
could lead to a crisis for physicians who can't withstand the financial
hit from their Medicare patients, said Dr. Cory Carroll, a solo
practitioner in Fort Collins. Medicare issues checks every day giving
doctors a steady flow of income, Carroll said.
The Bush
Administra-tion ordered the delay so the Senate could consider
reversing a scheduled 10..6-percent cut in Medicare reimbursements. The
House voted to halt the 10.6-percent cut.
Only Congress can block
the cut to doctors' payments. The proposed legislation, which passed
the House 355-59 and fell one vote short in the Senate, has broad
support from doctors, hospitals and pharmacists but is strongly opposed
by the insurance industry. Fort Collins Coloradoan
State hospitals score average or better in infection survey
All but one of Colorado's hospitals are average or better in preventing
central line infections, compared to hospitals nationwide, the first
results stemming from a new mandatory reporting law shows.
State
lawmakers in 2006 passed the law that mandates reporting of infection
rates, and a public reporting of those rates each six months. The law
went into effect on July 31 of last year, so this is the first
report.Two more reports will be developed this year.
Central lines
are catheters that snake through veins ending close to the heart where
they can infuse fluids or draw blood from patients. When they get
infected they can cause the growth of dangerous bacteria, including
staphylococcus.
The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora fared worse than average with 12 infections out of 1,568 central-line days.
Jackie Montgomery, spokeswoman for the CU hospital, said the hospital
took immediate steps to improve practices when it saw the numbers. The
improvements seem to have worked. The CU hospital had no infections in
February, March or April, the first three months in which the new
protocols were in place.
"This is exactly how health care improves
- by getting this type of data out there and comparing hospitals and
making changes," Montgomery said." Rocky Mountain News
State awards $2.2 million to Colorado health care providers
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing announced
July 2 that it has awarded $2.2 million to 10 health care providers,
from Boulder to Alamosa. The program provides funding to health care
providers to expand primary and preventive services to Colorado's
low-income residents.
The program funding "will allow us to
provide at least 1,296 dental visits for 540 uninsured clients this
year," Jerry Brasher, executive director of Salud Family Health Centers
in Brighton, said in a press release. "Oral health has been proven to
affect the health of the whole person. Providing oral health services
decreases emergency room visits, keeps kids in school and employees on
the job."
Since the first CPPC grant awards were made in April
2001, more than $26.9 million has been distributed to health care
providers. This funding has provided medical, dental, mental health and
pharmaceutical services to at least 122,746 residents. Department of Health Care Policy/Financing |
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