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Christmas came a little early for the data nerds here at the Colorado Health Institute with Tuesday’s release of new estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS). For the first time, the Census Bureau’s data includes five-year health insurance coverage estimates for areas as small as Census tracts.
Two key health policies adopted by state lawmakers in 2013 – extending dental benefits to adult Medicaid enrollees and expanding Medicaid to all low-income Coloradans – hold the promise of better oral health for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. Is the state’s dental workforce prepared to provide care to this new wave of Coloradans with insurance coverage?
The Colorado Health Institute, in partnership with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), unveiled a statewide strategic plan to create jobs and economic growth in the health and wellness industry on December 11, 2013.
A new year and a new session of the Colorado state legislature are almost here. Most New Year’s resolutions are cast in hope and optimism, and that would be a fair description when it comes to health policy heading into the 2014 legislature.
In terms of Colorado’s economic development, the Health and Wellness Industry represents both vitally important infrastructure and robust opportunity. That’s the key finding of the Colorado Health Institute’s newest report, “Healthy Economy, Healthy Colorado: A Strategic Action Plan for Colorado’s Health and Wellness Industry.”
Overall, the underinsurance rate rose slightly from 12.8 percent in 2011 to 13.9 percent in 2013. But digging deeper, the findings reveal that location matters in underinsurance.
Connect for Health Colorado has released information about the first Coloradans who have signed up for coverage. The new data offer a glimpse into the characteristics of these Colorado insurance marketplace pioneers. It gives us an early sense of how well the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is performing in our state.
Being new to the team, I didn’t know much about the Colorado Health Access Survey. Nearly two months and 317 data tables later, I now know that this baptism by CHAS fire was the perfect introduction to working at the Colorado Health Institute.
In terms of general health, only 56.8 percent of those who did not complete high school or an equivalent program report excellent, very good, or good health – the best outcomes - in 2013.
The lasting legacy of the great thinker Rene Descartes – that the body and mind are separate - has created some complicated downstream consequences for mental health care. New federal regulations related to mental health parity are aimed at addressing the problem.