A 2022 bill provided the means for licensing dental therapists, a mid-level provider who could narrow the oral health equity gap. But training for them doesn’t exist in Colorado.
Healthier Colorado
Posted inHealth
Colorado Option sign-up numbers are in. But the debate over the Jared Polis-backed insurance plan is far from over.
Approximately 35,000 people signed up for Colorado Option health insurance plans during the most recent open enrollment period
Posted inElection 2022
Colorado’s U.S. Senate candidates debate in the race’s first-ever mental health forum
Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and his Republican challenger, Joe O’Dea, drew contrasts on their approaches to a top-of-mind issue for Coloradans
Posted inHousing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado cities will be able to require developers to build affordable housing in new rental projects
A 20-year-old court precedent that has blocked Colorado cities and towns from forcing developers to build affordable housing in new rental projects is no more, after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Friday. “Communities are strongest when people who work in a community can live in the community, and that’s something that sadly […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado could soon be required to help every person leaving prison get a photo ID
It can be the key to accessing social services and education opportunities, getting a job or finding a place to live. But as recently as 2015, fewer than half of the adults leaving Colorado’s prison system had a state-issued photo identification card or driver’s license when they were released. “An ID seems mundane, but it […]
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, Election 2020, News, Politics and Government
Emails show negotiations involving Colorado governor, cigarette giant that led to tobacco tax hike
Gov. Jared Polis’ office was asked to meet several conditions insisted upon by Altria in exchange for the cigarette giant agreeing not to fight legislation that put a question on the November ballot asking voters to raise tobacco and nicotine taxes in Colorado, emails obtained by The Colorado Sun show. One of those conditions included […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Now that the coronavirus vaccine is here, public health agencies must convince Coloradans to take it
Vaccines won’t end this pandemic. Vaccination will. Scrambling five letters at the end of a word is far more than semantics, say experts like Immunize Colorado’s Stephanie Wasserman. The seemingly magical public health power of a highly effective vaccine dissipates immediately if too many people refuse to actually take the vaccine. Colorado needs to get […]
Posted inCOVID, News, Politics and Government
Health care, the environment, coronavirus: How the pandemic has become a top election-year issue in Colorado
AURORA — When Suzanne Staiert knocks on doors and asks voters about their top-of-mind issues as part of her statehouse campaign, the response these days usually has something to do with the state of the economy or the reopening of schools. What all the concerns have in common: coronavirus. “Some of them want to know […]
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 inColoradans, COVID, Politics and Government
Most Coloradans don’t think state should reopen until more coronavirus testing is available, poll says
An overwhelming majority of Colorado believes strong measures, like the closure of businesses, are needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a new poll finds. The sentiment — shared by two-thirds of residents — appears to conflict with a push by Gov. Jared Polis to begin reopening Colorado starting today with curbside retail sales […]