Author: Michael Booth
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R.J. Reynolds rejects request to stop testing ‘dissolvable’ tobacco in Colorado
The state board of health urged R.J. Reynolds to stop using Colorado as a test market for “dissolvable” tobacco products that look like toothpicks, breath strips and mints. The board asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the controversial Camel products as tobacco, giving it more oversight power. R.J. Reynolds responded that it…
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Colorado doctors still taking money from drug companies
Dozens of Colorado doctors have continued to accept hundreds of thousands of dollars from drug companies since a national database first spotlighted the payments, but an ethics crackdown by two major academic institutions is slowing the controversial practice. An ethics board at the University of Colorado School of Medicine has rejected more than one-third of…
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Doctors joining Denver-area hospitals in a big way
Denver-area hospitals are hiring doctors by the hundreds as in-house staff, promising quality care and cost savings, but critics warn the direct-employment trend threatens patient choice and monopoly pricing from mega-hospitals. Hospitals say their ballooning rosters of staff doctors will allow them to compete for “accountable care” contracts with Medicare under health care reform, which…
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Medicaid gets a boost in Colorado
State health officials and hospital leaders have agreed on a proposed $50 million transfer of provider fees to shore up basic Medicaid in Colorado, while federal officials on Thursday urged states to also consider cuts in optional benefits to balance their threatened Medicaid budgets. Hospitals and advocates for the poor hail the first year of…
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Needy still suffering delays in receiving state health, food assistance
Massive delays continue to plague the state benefits system for Medicaid, food stamps and other assistance, obstructing hundreds of thousands of residents and prompting a new contempt of court call by legal advocates for the poor. In some categories, the roadblocks have worsened despite years of attempted fixes. Tens of thousands of clients a month…
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Heat’s on Buck for VA remarks
Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign turned up the heat Thursday on Republican Ken Buck’s statement that the private sector could operate hospitals better than the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bennet’s camp has gotten high mileage from footage of Buck answering a question in June, where he responds, “Would a veterans administration hospital that is run by…
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Colo. health insurers seek rate hikes, citing new reform law
Health-insurance companies are raising rates in Colorado, ending sales of child-only policies and blaming their actions in part on the federal health reform law, moves that regulators call “bizarre” and consumer advocates are vowing to watch. The election-season changes by insurers come as Democrats and Republicans escalate harsh rhetoric on the reforms passed in March.…
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Romanoff lashes Bennet for millions in movie-chain payouts
Sen. Michael Bennet frequently touts his business experience restructuring billions of dollars in corporate debt while overseeing a major movie-theater chain for billionaire Philip Anschutz. But the Regal Cinemas deal that Bennet touts in a campaign ad as a job-saver was also denounced as “looting” and “self-dealing,” involving layoffs, bargain purchases of distressed loans and…
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Romanoff ratchets up negative attacks as Senate primary approaches
Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff’s attacks on Sen. Michael Bennet have shaded more and more negative in recent weeks, as primary ballots hit the mail and polls show Romanoff trailing. Romanoff surrogates blasted Bennet for small charitable contributions in years he made millions and sharpened points about Washington, D.C., corruption and cynicism. Romanoff said it was…
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Tancredo’s remarks rain on Senate candidate Buck’s party
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck learned all over again Thursday why handing over the microphone to Tom Tancredo is often a perilous choice. A hot dog picnic in a LoDo park was supposed to be Buck’s afternoon, basking in the reflected glory of Tea Party favorite Sen. Jim DeMint from South Carolina. DeMint, who…