Meeting of Interest
12th Annual Meeting of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Red Lion Hotel
Denver Southeast
3200 S. Parker Road at I-225
"Keeping the Momentum"
The
12th Annual CCMU Conference will examine strategies from Colorado and
across the country to maintain progress in health care reform.
Invited
speakers include Gov. Bill Ritter; Dr. Neal Halfon, Director, UCLA
Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities; Dr. Mark
Levine, Chief Medical Officer - Region VIII, Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare Services; and others.
The
Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved is a coalition of
public, private and non-profit organizations committed to access to
affordable, timely, quality health care for everyone in Colorado.
For more more information and to register, click here.
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The Business Health Forum is funded by several foundations, including The Colorado Health Foundation and The Colorado Trust.
The BHF is a project of the CACI Educational Foundation.
Stay tuned for info. about upcoming business health care forums in your community.
To learn more about the Forum, contact Amy Fletcher at afletcher@bizhealthforum.org or call 303-866-9659.
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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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Health reforms' impact on employers debated
Advisers
to the two major presidential candidates during an online debate on the
Wall Street Journal Web site discussed how their health care proposals
would affect the employer-sponsored health insurance market.
The Kaiser Family Foundation provided the following summary:
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.)
proposes having private health plans and a new public plan compete in
the health insurance market.
Presumptive Republican presidential
nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) proposes replacing a tax break for
employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable
tax credit for families to purchase private coverage.
David
Cutler, health care policy adviser to Obama, said that the Obama
proposal would "shore up the employment-based system, not tear it down:
lower premiums that firms face through investments in information
technology and prevention; create a setting where individuals and small
firms can buy insurance the way that large firms do; make sure that
insurers cannot exclude firms because one employee is sick."
Jay
Khosla, health care policy adviser to McCain, said that the McCain
proposal "simply aims to bring equity and choice to our health care
system, including allowing American families to keep their current
coverage." He added, "The McCain plan gives American families a $5,000
refundable tax credit ($2,500 for individuals) to give them more
choices to purchase portable coverage that would stay with them from
'job to job' or 'job to home.'" Health Blog, Wall Street Journal |
Top health care news
Montrose workshop to analyze affordability of health care
This week, residents have the opportunity to see how affordable health care is for them.
On Thursday and Friday, Montrose County Health and Human Services is
holding six different "health care affordability workshops." The
workshops' objective is to help households budget for health insurance.
The program is part of Colorado Voice for Coverage's goal to increase access to health care by making it more affordable.
During the sessions, participants will fill out a confidential
household budget survey on what they can afford for health insurance.
Child care is provided at no cost and participants receive a $10 gift
certificate. Montrose Daily Press
Study: Many Hispanics shut out of U.S. health care system
An estimated 25 percent of Hispanics in the United States don't have a
regular health care provider to treat their medical needs. And these
people tend to be the newest documented and undocumented immigrants and
those without health insurance, a new survey found.
The survey,
conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, is important because it paints a picture of health care
among Hispanics, the largest minority group in the United States,
comprising 45 million people and growing.
One key finding of the
survey was how many Hispanics lack a "medical home" -- a regular
provider to supply medical care. Latinos are more than twice as likely
to lack a usual health care provider, Gretchen Livingston, a senior
researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center, said during a teleconference.
And that could pose problems because rates of diabetes are high among
Hispanics. But nearly one-third of the survey respondents said they
know little about the disease or how to prevent or manage it. Washington Post
Denver symposium to explore health and fitness in schools
This day-long symposium, to be held Sept. 9, is the first step in a
movement to develop public schools in Colorado that will integrate
healthy eating, increased physical education and activity, healthy
school environments, and a comprehensive curriculum. The goal is to
create environments where healthy and active children will achieve
their academic potential.
National and Colorado experts will share
their insights and experiences in creating and sustaining innovative
and high-impact school programs. There will be opportunities throughout
the day for interaction and dialogue about strategies for innovation
and overcoming barriers to changing current systems.
This symposium will connect school teams, health and wellness
professionals, legislators and community leaders who want to make sustainable change in Colorado's schools. Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission
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