By Dan Gorenstein and Leslie Walker, The Tradeoff Marilyn Bartlett might be the closest thing health policy has to a folk hero. A certified public accountant who barely tops 5 feet, Bartlett bears zero resemblance to Paul Bunyan. But she did take an ax to Montana’s hospital prices in 2016, stopping the state’s employee health […]
health care costs
Posted inHealth, News
A Colorado veteran had appendicitis. But the fight over his hospital bill may have been worse.
By Elizabeth Lawrence, Kaiser Health News In late August 2019, Shannon Harness awoke to serious pain in the lower right side of his abdomen — a telltale sign of appendicitis. He booked it to the emergency room of the only hospital in the county: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida, Colorado. After a […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Coronavirus will add 500,000 people to Colorado’s Medicaid rolls — with major consequences for the health care system
For years, lawmakers in Colorado have talked about fundamentally changing the state’s health care system. They’ve talked about creating more competition in the insurance industry or providing subsidies to make coverage more affordable. They’ve talked about tackling hospital prices and trimming profits. And, now, after all that groundwork, the coronavirus pandemic has come along and […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats just proposed an enormous change to how health insurance programs are funded
In a budget-panicked, coronavirus-interrupted legislative session that has already seen major proposals for how health insurance should work in the state come and go, Colorado lawmakers have just proposed another massive change. Senate Bill 215 would create a new fee on the health insurance premiums paid by close to a million people in the state. […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, Politics and Government
Colorado’s coronavirus budget crunch is putting Democratic accomplishments at risk
Anna Layden makes $57,000 a year as an educator in Durango and owes the same amount in student debt after putting herself through college and graduate school. To pay it down, she applied for a $5,000 loan repayment through a new initiative for Colorado teachers. Deana Cairo wanted to see her 19-year-old son with developmental […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
$10,000-a-day fines and other things to know about Colorado’s new public health insurance option bill
After months of debate, numerous reports and an opposition advertising campaign, Colorado lawmakers on Thursday officially introduced the bill that would create a public health insurance option in the state. Many of the details remain the same from earlier proposals — the option plans would be available at first only to people who buy coverage […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s public health insurance option puts a bull’s-eye on hospital profits. But some rural facilities could make more.
Situated in the small Eastern Plains town of Hugo, the 60-year-old Lincoln Community Hospital is one of the most affordable in Colorado. A study last year found that it currently charges privately insured patients on average only slightly more than the rate that Medicare pays for the same services, giving Lincoln Community the third-lowest prices […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
Polis wants communities to negotiate directly with hospitals. But, in Durango, a major hospital system just said no.
There was a time, decades ago, when Peter Schertz and his wife offered health insurance to employees at their small bookstore on Main Street in Durango. But that was before hospital prices skyrocketed and insurance premiums rose along with them, to more than $1,000 a month for many families in southwestern Colorado. Now, Schertz said, […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado hospitals hate the plan to cap their prices. Here’s how they want to control health costs instead.
As Democrats at the state Capitol near the introduction of the long-awaited and hugely controversial bill to create a public health insurance option, Colorado hospitals on Tuesday unveiled their counter offer. Their proposal is a “total-cost-of-care” model — essentially a big health spending budget for the state. An independent commission would be charged with setting […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Transparency and accountability needed in prescription drug industry
I spent my career as a public librarian ensuring my community had the freedom to learn and access information about the systems and conditions that affect our everyday lives. As an older adult with chronic conditions, the high cost of prescription drugs and our health care system greatly impacts both my financial security and my […]