Tag: health care
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Colorado candidates for governor share plans to tackle youth mental health crisis
Three candidates for Colorado’s highest elected office laid out their plans to address the state’s youth mental health crisis during a forum on Thursday. Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and Republican State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer fielded questions about expanding access to mental health care for children, addressing the workforce shortage, and…
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Colorado legislature pushes AI rules targeting health care, therapy and chatbots
With just days left in the 2026 legislative session, Colorado lawmakers are rushing a trio of artificial intelligence bills to Gov. Jared Polis, aiming to set rules on artificial intelligence in the areas of health care, therapy and consumer-facing chatbots. As technology advances at breakneck speed, lawmakers have been scrambling to establish regulations, particularly regarding…
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Colorado legislators drove up cost of Medicaid program
Some of Colorado’s spending woes in Medicaid can be traced to lawmakers who had approved new or expanded programs in the last few years, driving up state costs to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Just three measures passed in the past five years, for example, would cost the state more than $80…
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Colorado voters to decide whether to ban gender surgeries for minors
Colorado voters will decide this November whether to prohibit gender surgeries for minors and bar public funding or insurance coverage for procedures that alter children’s biological sex characteristics. The measure qualified for the ballot amid a push by the federal government to halt such surgical procedures and hormonal treatment, a move that has begun to…
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Colorado Medicaid probe uncovers millions of dollars in alleged transport fraud ring
Colorado Medicaid officials detected $25 million in abnormal billing over just four months two years ago — a surge that prompted a new state law and the suspension of dozens of providers in what authorities now describe as an organized fraud ring. State and federal prosecutors have since charged two transportation providers in separate indictments,…
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Crank hears concerns about veteran health care during federal push for change
The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to offer $1 trillion in contracts over 10 years to fund more community care for veterans, an initiative intended to give veterans more choice in their health care. U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and staff who work for the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Rep. Mike…
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Colorado budget writers put Medicaid caregiver pay cuts on hold
The Colorado General Assembly’s budget decision-makers have put proposed pay cuts on hold for people who care for a family member with a disability who receives Medicaid. The Joint Budget Committee made the decision after hours of testimony from family caregivers and several advocates. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has been struggling…
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Q&A with Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s Ross Marchand
The Taxpayers Protection Alliance describes itself as a nonpartisan group “dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.” Colorado Politics spoke with TPA’s senior fellow and attorney, Ross Marchand, about the organization’s work investigating Colorado’s Medicaid spending increase. CP: Can you tell me…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss strike-breaking nurses’ lawsuit over wage violations
A federal judge last week declined to dismiss 39 nursing employees’ claims for compensation against a Greenwood Village-based company for its alleged violations of state and federal law. U.S. Nursing Corporation employs health care professionals to cross the picket lines during strikes. During a three-day strike in October 2023 at Kaiser Permanente facilities, USN sent…
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ACA enrollment in Colorado sees slight dip amid rising costs
Despite handwringing over enhanced federal subsidies going away for many Coloradans enrolled in health insurance on the state’s marketplace, officials reported Friday just a 2% enrollment dip. More than 277,000 Coloradans enrolled in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act — colloquially known as “Obamacare.” The decline followed five years of consecutive growth, state officials…