Business Health Forum

Sep 11 News from the Business Health Forum

BHF Admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:16:35 GMT

News for Engaging Colorado Employers in Health Care Reform

Sept. 11, 2008

In This Issue

Meeting of interest

Ranks of Colorado uninsured continue to grow

Top health care news

Meeting of interest

Western Colo. HR Assoc
Fall Conference

Wednesday, Sept. 17 2008
All-day event begins at 8 a.m

Two River Conference Center
Grand Junction

Afternoon workshops feature Ralph Pollock from the Business Health Forum and Kelly Esselman from Mountain States Employers Council. The first afternoon workshop allows us an opportunity to let out voice be heard as we participate in a discussion titled "Colorado Health Care Reform - What is the Employer's Response?"

Kelly and Ralph really want to know! They will be reviewing legislative proposals and recent initiatives and will take feedback to the Capitol. The second workshop is titled "Assessing Assessment: An Examination of Pre- Employment Testing." Come prepared to interact!

Attendance at the day's events can earn up to 5 recertification credits!!

Register for the event online.

Quick Links

Our Web site

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 Amy Fletcher at afletcher@bizhealthforum.org or call 303-866-9659.

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.

Ranks of Colorado uninsured continue to grow
Contrary to national trends, the number of Colorado's uninsured grew slightly last year, according recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the Denver Business Journal, the Census Bureau's August report shows that 16.8 percent of Colorado's 4.7 million people lacked health insurance in 2007 - up one-half percentage point from the previous year. About 15.4 percent of 296 million people in the country lacked health insurance coverage in 2007 - down 0.5 percent (or roughly 1 million people) from 2006.
"In addition to jeopardizing the health of our neighbors, there are grave economic consequences for Colorado when one almost one in five people is uninsured," said Denise de Percin, on behalf of Colorado Voices for Coverage. "Reducing the number of uninsured in Colorado will take strong leadership, bipartisan cooperation and swift action from all sectors of our state."
Colorado Voices for Coverage (CVC) is a collaboration among the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, the Business Health Forum, the Colorado Progressive Coalition and the Colorado Council of Churches, made possible through a joint project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst.

Top health care news
Employers encourage workers to travel for health care
In a new twist on medical tourism, U.S. employers are encouraging workers to travel domestically for medical care.
Some employers are looking to take advantage of geographical variations in the quality and cost of health care within the U.S., while others are leveraging deals they've struck with foreign hospitals in order to secure better rates with U.S. hospitals that are eager to keep American patients here. Most of the activity is focused on surgical procedures, such as hip and knee replacement, and cardiac bypasses.
Employers are offering financial incentives, such as no out-of-pocket costs -- which can save workers thousands of dollars -- money for travel expenses, and access to concierge services that schedule appointments and organize travel arrangements, as enticements. Wall Street Journal

Fewer U.S medical students choosing primary care
Only 2 percent of graduating medical students say they plan to work in primary care internal medicine, raising worries about a looming shortage of the first-stop doctors who used to be the backbone of the American medical system.
The results of a new survey published Wednesday suggest more medical students, many of them saddled with debt, are opting for more lucrative specialties.
Just 2 percent of nearly 1,200 fourth-year students surveyed planned to work in primary care internal medicine, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a similar survey in 1990, the figure was 9 percent. Associated Press

'State of the state' meetings on health care financing

Health care reform is one of the battle cries of this year's presidential, federal and state elections. The recent federal debate over the Medicare payments pitted physicians against health plans. In Colorado, the state Legislature responded to the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform report with more than health care-related bills. What's next?
At the 2008 Colorado State of the State session, Jim Hertel of Colorado Managed Care will lay it out for you, and you'll get feedback from industry leaders. These sessions are an opportunity for you to join in the discussion and network with industry representatives, providers, government officials and friends.
For more information, go to www.hmo-info.com.

Sept 4 News from the Business Health Forum

BHF Admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:03:34 GMT

Business Health Forum

News for Engaging Colorado Employers in Health Care Reform

Sept. 4, 2008

In This Issue

Meeting of interest

Study: Workers to pay more for health care

Top health care news

Meeting of interest

Western Colo. HR Assoc
Fall Conference

Wednesday, Sept. 17 2008
All-day event begins at 8 a.m

Two River Conference Center
Grand Junction

Quick Links

Our Web site

Dear Amy,

Study: Workers to pay more for health care
Get ready for another hike in copays and deductibles.
The Associated Press reports that a survey being released Thursday by the Mercer consulting firm found 59 percent of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits.
On average, health care costs will go up by an estimated 5.7 percent next year for both workers and their employers, the study found. That repeats this year's 5.7 percent hike and a 6.1 percent jump in 2007.
Mercer's complete survey results won't be released until later in the year, but for the 1,317 employer health plan sponsors that have responded so far, the total cost to renew their current health plans - if they were to make no changes - would grow by nearly 8 percent on average. Small employers (those with 10-499 employees) would see an even higher increase, of about 10 percent. However, the majority of respondents say they will take action to lower their actual cost increases.
The growth of health care costs has hovered at around 6 percent since 2005, according to Mercer. While that's down from the double-digit growth in previous years, it's still moving at a faster clip than inflation or workers wages.
The results were preliminary findings, which have historically been in line with final results. Associated Press

Top health care news
Pueblo business school to join health care network

Colorado State University-Pueblo's Hasan School of Business will join with three other Southern Colorado organizations in developing a network to promote improved and expanded access to health care.
Hasan School of Business will join with the Center for Leadership and Community Development, Action 22 Foundation, Center for Immigrant and Community Integration of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo and the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center to advocate for residents of 22 counties in the region to gain access to health care.
The Colorado Trust recently awarded the partnership a $200,000 grant to get the network started.
The partnership will focus on helping community members identify their health needs and collecting and analyzing data that will aid with the community-based planning and program development. Pueblo Chieftain

Health care pacts strain pacts between employers and labor
The skyrocketing cost of health care is increasing conflict between employers and unions, and as costs continue to rise, the tensions likely will too.
Over the next year, health-care costs are expected to rise more than 10 percent, according to a survey of insurers by Aon Consulting Worldwide. That's the smallest increase the consulting firm has seen in the past six years.
As a result of such soaring costs, employers have been turning to their employees to defray the expense. In Arizona, according to the Arizona Daily Star, Qwest Communications International Inc. is turning to members of its largest union to contribute to their monthly premiums for the first time, and the defense contractor Raytheon Co. is involved in a federal lawsuit regarding health costs for early retirees.
Last month, contract negotiations between Qwest and its largest union, the Communications Workers of America, stretched past the expiration of their previous contract.
Denver-based Qwest struck a tentative agreement Aug. 18 with CWA members getting wage increases of slightly more than 9 percent compounded over three years, Toevs said. But for the first time, those members would have to make a small contribution to their monthly health-care premiums, he said. Arizona Daily Star

Obama accepts presidential nomination, discusses health care
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver accepted the presidential nomination and discussed his proposals for health care and other issues, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
In comments about his health care proposal, Obama said, "If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums," adding, "If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves." He added, "Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave."
The Service Employees International Union and Families USA on Wednesday hosted a forum in Denver as part of "their lobbying efforts to get health care reform passed in the next administration's first 100 days," Roll Call reports. During the forum, former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) cited the need to "move any legislation in the very beginning of a new president's term," adding, "We cannot wait." Kaiser Family Foundation

Aug 21 News from the Business Health Forum

BHF Admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:00:51 GMT

Business Health Forum

News for Engaging Colorado Employers in Health Care Reform

August 21, 2008

In This Issue

Meeting of interest

National execs in Denver to discuss wellness

Top health care news

Meeting of interest

Western Colo. HR Assoc
Fall Conference

Wednesday, Sept. 17 2008
All-day event begins at 8 a.m

Two River Conference Center
Grand Junction

Quick Links

Our Web site

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.

Dear Amy,

National execs in Denver to discuss wellness
The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee has launched a series of 10 issue-oriented, non-partisan discussions, including one on health care that will be held Monday, Aug. 25.
Tickets are $12 and are still available for the discussion, which will be 9:30 a.m - 11:45 a.m. at Denver Center for the Performing Arts Complex. For more information, click here.
The discussion will focus on wellness and prevention and the impact chronic illnesses -- including diabetes, heart disease, cancer -- have on millions of Americans and businesses. The roundtable will discuss: Is creating a culture of wellness through lifestyle choices and private/public policies critical to sustaining a growth-oriented economy? Is there sufficient capacity within the U.S. medical system to provide sufficient care?
Participants include top executives from Pitney Bowes, Denver Health, Wellpoint and UnitedHealth Group, Safeway Inc., the Mayo Clinic, the cities of Sanf Francisco and Boston, Pfizer, the state of Colorado and more. Rocky Mountain Roundtable

Top health care news
Report: Colorado ranks lowest for obesity, but rate is increasing

Colorado is the least obese state in America, according to a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
However, the state's adult obesity rate is 18.4 percent, an increase for the second year in a row.
Nationally, adult obesity rates rose in 37 states in the past year. No state saw a decrease. Though many promising policies have emerged to promote physical activity and good nutrition in communities, the report concludes that they are not being adopted or implemented at levels needed to turn around this health crisis.
More than 20 percent of adults are obese in every state except Colorado. An estimated two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and an estimated 23 million children are either overweight or obese (the report does not include new state-level data for children this year).
Rates of type 2 diabetes, a disease typically associated with obesity, increased in 26 states last year, including in Colorado. Trust for America's Health

Harry and Louise are back, this time promoting health reform
Harry and Louise, the iconic couple featured in ads to defeat the Clinton health plan in 1993-1994, are back on television. This time they will lend their voice to strongly encourage health care reform.
The new multi-million dollar ad campaign will air on national television throughout the Democratic and Republican conventions. In light of ever increasing health care costs and increasing numbers of people without health insurance coverage, Harry and Louise will urge the next President and Congress to put health care at the top of the domestic agenda.
The ad campaign is sponsored by five prominent national organizations. Those organizations - the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Catholic Health Association (CHA), Families USA, and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) - represent diverse constituencies with historically different views on health care reform, but they have come together to promote urgent action to resolve the growing health care crisis. HarryandLouiseReturn.com

Health care no longer primary ailment for voters, candidates
What happened to health care? In the daily rat-a-tat-tat between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, the silence is deafening.
In the drawn- out Democratic primary fight between Sen. Hillary and Obama, the cost and availability of health care were daily fodder in the debate over which candidate would do a better job as president.
And now, there is ... not much.
The continual tussle between the two presumptive presidential nominees - Obama and McCain - has largely centered recently on national security and the high price of gasoline. Public opinion polls have shown that among the top issues of concern to Americans, health care is languishing far behind the economy, the war and the price of gas. One CBS poll from July put voter interest in health care at just 3 percent. In August, it was at 8 percent.
"For a lot of people who have health insurance, they are paying more for health care, but it may not show up as concretely as paying $70 to fill their gas tank," said Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster. Chicago Tribun

Aug 14 News from the Business Health Forum

BHF Admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:58:41 GMT

Business Health Forum
Business Health Forum Newsletter

News for Engaging Colorado Employers in Health Care Reform

August 14, 2008

In This Issue

Meeting of interest

Health reforms' impact on employers debated

Top health care news

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.

Quick Links

Our Web site

Sign up with the BHF

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.

Dear Amy,

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

July 31 News from the Business Health Forum

BHF Admin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:36:16 GMT

Business Health Forum

News for Engaging Colorado Employers in Health Care Reform

July 31, 2008

In This Issue

Meeting of interest

Health leaders call for comprehensive reform

Top health care news

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 Governor 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.

Register for the event online starting Aug. 1.

Quick Links

Our Web site

Dear Amy,

Colo. leaders call for comprehensive reform
A panel of leading health care experts called Wednesday for incremental, but comprehensive, health care reform, including improving information sharing among providers and incentives created by the current payment system.
Sky Ridge Medical Center CEO Maureen Tarrant says her "jaw drops every day" when she understands how irrational and full of fragmented rules the current system is.
"I get paid best when you are the sickest," Tarrant said, noting that certain procedures, including spine surgery, end up subsidizing the cost of providing newborn and obstetrics care, as well as subsidizing care for patients with substance abuse problems.
"We operate like a Robin Hood system," she said.
The panel, part of a community forum, was hosted by the Colorado Hospital Association. The hospital association was promoting its "Health for Life" framework for change, which emphasizes five elements in health care reform: health coverage for all, paid for by all; a focus on wellness; efficient, affordable care; high-quality care; and the best health care information. Click here to learn more about "Health for Life."

Top health care news
Hospice services returning to Roaring Fork Valley

The Roaring Fork Valley will again have a local hospice care provider by early fall.
Just one month after the Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs closed Roaring Fork Hospice Program (RFHP), the valley's only provider of hospice care, an independent hospice organization has been formed by the Aspen Valley Medical Foundation, Aspen Valley Hospital and Valley View Hospital.
The three parties have agreed to contribute money toward the formation of an independent hospice program, and an anonymous donor recently contributed $1 million to ensure the program's long-term sustainability. Glenwood Springs Post Independent

Editor's note: Spending for hospice care, which provides an alternative to hospitalization, has a "marginal effect" on slowing health care costs. That's according to the Dartmouth Atlas Project, which uses Medicare claims to measure the use of health care services.

U.S. House votes to let FDA regulate tobacco industry
The House approved legislation yesterday that would for the first time empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the tobacco industry, a measure long sought by anti-smoking advocates.
After about 40 minutes of sometimes passionate debate, the House voted 326 to 102 to approve the measure, which would give the agency broad authority over cigarette makers, including the power to ban marketing of cigarettes to children, require disclosure of tobacco ingredients and mandate larger, more specific health warnings. It would also enable the agency to require tobacco companies to reduce or eliminate harmful ingredients and ban candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes.
The White House has signaled that President Bush will veto the legislation if it is approved by the Senate, which may not have a veto-proof majority in support of it.
"This is truly an historic day in the fight against tobacco," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the measure with Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.). "Regulating tobacco is the single most important thing that we can do right now to protect the public health of all Americans, especially our children." Washington Post

Advocacy group recruits participants for affordability study
State lawmakers are studying how to make health care more affordable. However, for this to become a reality, we must understand what Coloradans can spend on health care.
Here's how you can help.
From Aug. 6-22, Colorado Voices for Coverage will be conducting an affordability study in conjunction with the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. CVC will host workshops in communities statewide, where
participants will fill out a confidential household budget survey on what they can afford for health insurance. This is an opportunity for ordinary Coloradans to help inform policymakers and the public about affordability as Colorado moves toward reform.
If you are interested in helping organize a workshop in your community or recruiting workshop participants, please contact Kelli Keck at cvcaffordability@yahoo.com or 303-839-1261.