CHI Joins Network of Researchers in Examining ACA

March 18, 2014

A new report sponsored by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York, and the Fels Institute of Government at the University of the Pennsylvania, has been released. The report focuses on the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in the western states and was put together by a network of researchers.

Authors of Colorado’s report? CHI’s own Jeff Bontrager, Sara Schmitt and Kevin Butcher. A new page in our Legislation and Policy section – Studying the Rollout of the Affordable Care Act – contains the reports from Colorado and seven other Western states. You can also read CHI editor Cliff Foster’s latest blog for more on the series.

Turning to the legislature, CHI is closely watching a number of important bills on a wide range of topics. You can read about the bills that made the list in our Legislative Roundup from last week. Keep an eye out later this week when Sara Schmitt blogs about the proposed House Bill 14-1301: Safe Routes to School Program State Funding, which would target $3 million toward the promotion of pedestrian and bicycle safety in school areas, following the end of federal funding for a similar program.

All hands are on deck for this year’s CHAS publications. Most of the CHI team will be contributing a two-page “Survey Snapshot” using data from the 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS). Next week, we will release Jeff Bontrager’s Snapshot on Churn in Colorado and the following week Natalie Triedman will cover Medicaid.  The kickoff of the series - Sara’s Snapshot of children’s oral health - can be found here.

Senior Analyst Rebecca Alderfer is scheduled to be interviewed by Mary MacCarthy, Denver Bureau Chief and Correspondent for Forecast News Story. The interview will focus on our work related to Colorado’s primary care workforce. No dates are set for when the interview may air, but CHI will keep you posted when we have details.

Be sure to check out some new content uploaded to our website:

  • A presentation by CEO Michele Lueck on health and wellness for Colorado State Health IT Advocacy Day can be found here.
  • Research Analyst Natalie Triedman’s presentation focusing on Denver County kids using 2013 CHAS data is on the web here. You can read more about children’s health insurance coverage in Denver in our latest insight.
  • We are about a week away from the launch of The Colorado Health Foundation’s 2013 Colorado Health Report Card. Until then, you can find the Report Card for each of the past seven years on the new Report Card page of our website.

We will release our annual update of the estimated number of children eligible but not enrolled (EBNE) in Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) later this week.