Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Zornio: Marshall fire victims battling insurance companies need to know about DORA

More than six weeks after the most costly blaze in Colorado’s history, many victims of the Marshall fire are facing the next uphill battle: Insurance recovery. It’s been well established that many residents are underinsured or not insured at all. This comes with its own challenges, largely met by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Colorado will keep its long-term mental health program for doctors after yearlong fight

A power struggle that pitted a state agency against the Colorado Medical Board was finally resolved this week after more than a year of tension.  At issue was the state’s contract with a peer counseling organization that for more than 30 years has helped doctors who struggle with depression, burnout, alcohol and drug abuse, physical […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Opinion: Colorado lawmakers must preserve community protection from sex offenders

For over 40 years, researchers have documented and detailed the intentional tactics that sex offenders often use to shift blame and avoid accountability for their choice to victimize children, women and men. This unique group of criminals thrives on deception and hiding in plain sight.  According to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), […]

Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, News

Colorado eases license rules to let foreign-trained health workers help during coronavirus

By Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News As hospitals nationwide struggle with the latest COVID-19 surge, it’s not so much beds or ventilators in short supply. It’s the people to care for the sick. Yet a large, highly skilled workforce of foreign-educated doctors, nurses and other health practitioners is going largely untapped due to licensing and credentialing […]

Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government

Colorado agency erred in dumping a mental health program for doctors, judge rules

When state officials decided this summer to yank a contract for a peer health agency that has counseled Colorado physicians for 30 years, there was uproar in the medical community.  Hundreds of letters in protest — from doctors, medical students and others — bombarded the governor’s office and the state Department of Regulatory Agencies. How, […]

Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, News, Politics and Government

Doctors are overwhelmed by coronavirus. So why did Colorado officials just end a 30-year contract with a peer health program?

For more than 30 years, one agency has monitored Colorado physicians struggling with depression, alcohol or drug abuse, physical conditions and behavior problems — doctors seeking help so they can continue to see patients.  The Colorado Physician Health Program, which formed in 1986, has evaluated more than 5,600 doctors for problems ranging from overwhelming sadness […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, Health, News, Politics and Government

Why the DEA is suing Colorado’s pharmacy board as part of an opioid investigation

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has sued the board that regulates Colorado’s pharmacies, demanding it share information from a database that tracks opioid prescriptions and setting up a clash over patient privacy amid the nation’s overdose epidemic. The requested information is part of an investigation into whether two unnamed pharmacies broke the law in dispensing […]