New Disparities Brief Headlines Busy Week at CHI

The Colorado Health Institute released our newest brief today – “Analyzing Lower Rates of Health Insurance Among Colorado’s Hispanic Adults: Factors Associated with the Disparity.” The brief details CHI’s regression analysis of 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS) data to define the factors associated with a health insurance coverage gap between Colorado’s Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults. Along with the brief, you can read a blog from the brief’s lead author, Hannah Wear.  

This week, three members of the CHI team will travel to Philadelphia for a conference on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act titled “Obamacare: What’s True, What’s False, What’s Next?” National speakers include Dr. Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution, Dr. Stuart Butler of The Heritage Foundation and Joe Klein, political columnist for Time magazine.

Last summer, the Colorado Health Institute accepted an invitation to join a network of health policy analysts and academicians across the United States who are taking an in-depth look at the rollout of the Affordable Care Act.  CEO Michele Lueck will be part of a panel of experts discussing the topic, “Making the ACA Work: The View From the States.” You can read our Colorado report along with those from other states here.

Director of Legislative Services Megan Lane and Senior Analyst Anna Vigran will represent CHI at the Colorado Culture of Health Conference on Wednesday in downtown Denver. Bringing together employers and health professionals, the conference is focused on creating a culture of health in the workplace. Megan and Anna will be at the CHI table sharing our work and talking about our services and resources.

Jeff Bontrager, director of research on coverage and access, is scheduled to speak tomorrow to a health policy class at the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Pharmacy. His presentation - Health Reform is Here: Colorado’s Changing Health Insurance Landscape – will focus on the Medicaid expansion in Colorado and the state-based exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.

On Wednesday, Jeff and research analyst Natalie Triedman will speak to a group in Aurora on the number of Colorado children who are eligible for but not enrolled (EBNE) in public insurance programs. The group has convened to participate in the Aurora KidsWell Initiative, which is trying to reduce the number of eligible kids in Aurora by signing them up for Medicaid or the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). Jeff and Natalie’s presentation will use CHI’s latest children’s EBNE estimates to provide the group a framework for their ground level initiatives. You can read our children’s EBNE fact sheet along with the data supplement and methodology on our website.

Rebecca Alderfer, senior analyst, and Jeff Bontrager each presented at the Colorado Hospital Association’s Rural Hospital Conference. Rebecca’s presentation – Health Care and Rural Colorado: Five Trends on the Horizon – focused on what rural counties can expect in the upcoming years in terms of health care. Jeff’s segment – Though a Patient’s Eyes: How Consumers Experience Colorado’s Health Care System – used data from the CHAS and the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey to cover the latest on access to care, barriers to seeking care, views on the health care system and how Medicaid enrollees rate their health care experiences.

With about a week left in the session, the team at CHI is closely monitoring all health related bills. In case you missed it, here is the bill roundup from last week. Keep a look out for our legislation in review report, due in May.