Newsroom

Colorado Hospital Association Supports Effort to Reduce Youth Nicotine and Tobacco Use Through Referred Measure

Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) supports House Bill 19-1333 to send Colorado voters a referred measure increasing the state’s tobacco tax and include liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes. “CHA and its member hospitals have historically supported measures of this kind, as they reduce use of tobacco and nicotine products and improve the health of our communities,” said Steven Summer, president and CEO, CHA.

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Colorado Hospital Association Supports Legislation to Improve Colorado’s Vaccination Rates

“Given the recent measles outbreak across the country, and the impact that has had not just on patient safety and public health – but also on health care costs, this is an ideal time to recognize the importance of vaccines in our health care system,” said Steven Summer, president and CEO, CHA. “CHA and its member hospitals support HB 19-1312 because we believe it will improve our state’s vaccination rates. This legislation is based on proven efforts to improve immunization rates, and vaccines are cost-effective and evidence-based way to prevent diseases in our communities.

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Colorado Hospital Association Advocates for Creation of Statewide Advance Directives Registry

This legislative session, CHA has helped develop Senate Bill 19-073, sponsored by Sen. Joann Ginal and Rep. Lois Landgraf, which would require the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to create and administer a new statewide electronic advance medical directives system, making them available to hospitals and health care providers through the state’s two health information exchanges. Colorado’s new system would be modeled after the many other states that have implemented a statewide electronic advance directives registry that allows providers to see a person’s wishes for medical treatment, regardless of where the person is seeking care and if he or she has provided a copy of the advance directives for the medical staff.

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Colorado Hospital Association Receives Funding From COPIC Medical Foundation to Further CO’s CURE Initiative

CHA was recently awarded a grant from the COPIC Medical Foundation to further its efforts to end the opioid epidemic in Colorado through the Colorado’s Opioid Solution: Clinicians United to Resolve the Epidemic (CO’s CURE). The CO’s CURE initiative aims to bring together the clinician/physician specialty societies of Colorado to develop the nation’s first comprehensive, multispecialty medical guidelines to address and resolve the opioid epidemic in Colorado.

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Colorado Hospitals Reach Agreement on Reinsurance Bill

Colorado Hospital Association and its member hospitals and health systems are committed to improving the affordability of health care in Colorado. The Association has worked diligently with the Gov. Polis Administration and Reps. Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon) and Janice Rich (R-Grand Junction) and Sens. Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) and Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale) on this year’s reinsurance proposal – House Bill 19-1168. This work was focused on developing a reinsurance program that could successfully reduce premiums for Coloradans without causing unintended consequences for Colorado’s providers, including hospitals. CHA has moved to neutral on this bill, with the anticipated adoption of amendments that will be introduced in the House on Friday, modifying the funding mechanism for the proposed reinsurance program.

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Colorado Hospital Association Releases Report on Hospital Costs and Opportunities

Today, Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is releasing “Health Care Costs and Hospitals: Drivers and Opportunities” – a report that examines a number of components that are tied to health care costs and affordability. Despite recent reports of higher than average costs in Colorado, Colorado actually spent the 5th lowest amount per capita on health care in 2014 (the most recent year for national expenditure data) and nearly 17 percent less per person than the national average. This report examines those comparisons to national data, as well as the role of the cost of living in Colorado and its impact on administrative and capital costs for hospitals; the correlation between hospital overhead costs and health insurance premiums and how hospital building and development compares to national trends.

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