Health insurance prices for many Coloradans could rise by as much as 11% next year, the largest jump in five years. That’s the bad news in preliminary rate filings released Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Insurance. The filings are for plans sold in the small group and individual markets — the places where small […]
Kaiser Permanente
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
COVID vaccines for the youngest Coloradans are here. We have answers to your questions.
As a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Dr. Sara Saporta-Keating knows well the toll the coronavirus has had on the country’s youngest residents. The United States has recorded more than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 in kids ages 4 and younger, according to data presented last week to a Centers for […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado health systems are making progress — finally — on combining mental and medical care
Laura Andrus, who has battled cancer and lung problems for years, told her doctor it felt like she was slipping into a depression worse than she had ever felt before. As inconclusive medical tests piled up, offering no information about why Andrus wasn’t feeling well and whether the cancer was back or if she had […]
Posted inHealth, News
Kaiser Permanente, unions reach labor deal to avert strike
LOS ANGELES — An alliance of unions representing 50,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California, Oregon and six other states called off a strike notice after reaching a tentative labor deal Saturday with the health care network. The Alliance of Health Care Unions and Kaiser Permanente jointly announced the agreement, staving off a potentially crippling strike […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News
Kaiser Permanente faces strike votes in California, Oregon. Colorado may be next.
LOS ANGELES — More than 24,000 nurses and other health care workers at Kaiser Permanente in California and Oregon have overwhelmingly authorized a strike, threatening to walk out over pay and working conditions strained by the coronavirus pandemic. Kaiser, one of the nation’s largest health care providers, has proposed a two-tiered wage and benefits system […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
More video visits and more doctor burnout: How the pandemic has changed health care in Colorado
Recently, The Colorado Sun convened a panel discussion on the future of health care in the state: How the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we all receive care and how it will change the industry. If you missed the event, it’s still well worth your time to check it out. The full video of […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Colorado parents are trying to get around school mask mandates with dubious doctor’s notes
Colorado parents are seeking an end-run around mask requirements at their children’s schools: doctor’s notes exempting them for dubious medical reasons. And in mask-averse Douglas County, where elected leaders already opted to create their own health department to sidestep unpopular COVID-19 public health orders, some parents aren’t taking “no” for an answer. Hundreds of parents […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado’s low-income patients can’t find specialty health care, study shows
Longmont’s Hopelight Medical Clinic handles all the usual primary care ailments that low-income and uninsured patients bring to a safety net health practice: strep throat, stitches, dental cavities, anxiety. Hopelight also regularly sees an urgent need to address much bigger problems, including one patient’s schizophrenia. But referrals and appointments for specialty care such as cardiology […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
What to know about vaccine-related heart issues and other insights on the coronavirus vaccine and kids
These are trying times for Colorado’s parents. The coronavirus pandemic still rages for those who are not vaccinated, now driven by the most transmissible form of the virus the state has ever seen. Vaccination rates are ticking up across the state. But vaccines are not available for kids under the age of 12, and, for […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats’ health care bill seeks to reduce insurance premiums. No one is sure exactly how.
Colorado Democrats’ big-swing effort at reforming the state’s health care industry squeaked through its toughest test yet on Wednesday. In the 4-3 party-line vote to clear the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, only one Democrat on the committee gave full-throated support to House Bill 1232, which seeks to reduce insurance premiums for a subset […]