Medicaid

Colorado’s gray wave drives up costs, exposes policy gaps

The Colorado Sun, State / / , , , , ,

“The only reality in the world is that we are going to get older and we’re going to die.”

Nobody can escape that reality, according to Christian Itin, a member of the Colorado Strategic Action Group on Aging.

“I think we need to remind folks that this will happen to me,” he said. “It will happen to you. It’ll happen to your family. We can’t put our heads in the sand and hide from that reality.”

In Colorado, the older population is growing fast, with ramifications for the major challenges the state already faces, notably housing, healthcare costs and workforce needs. It also affects student enrollment, which, in turn, means a direct impact on school financing.

Colorado’s gray wave drives up costs, exposes policy gaps Read More »

Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure

The Colorado Sun, National, State / / , , , , , ,

There are now only seven days left in Colorado’s legislative session. But lawmakers and other state officials have for weeks been bracing for the possibility of coming back to the Capitol later this year to deal with potential federal cuts to Medicaid likely to be included in Congressional Republicans’ still-being-written budget proposal.

“There certainly are a lot of indicators that would suggest that we might end up having to come back in the event that there’s a dramatic cut to Medicaid,” state Sen. Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat and member of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, said last month, as first reported in The Colorado Sun’s politics newsletter, The Unaffiliated.

Colorado braces for special session over bloated Medicaid spending amid federal pressure Read More »

Enos: What rushed gender and abortion bills say about the legislature’s priorities

Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Commentary, State / / , , , , , , , , ,

Transparency is not really our current General Assembly’s goal. We would like to believe that our state government works for us, but the majority party in charge is more concerned with covering its own tracks to avoid any repercussions of accountability with the voters. 

They also consider any opposing views or opinions to be dissent that must be squashed at all costs, even if it means forcibly gagging their opposition by disallowing all debate. This is not exactly an overflow of reasoned debate, which we would like to encourage amongst our lawmakers.

Enos: What rushed gender and abortion bills say about the legislature’s priorities Read More »

Colorado taxpayers footed $7.3M bill for dead Medicaid enrollees, audit finds

denvergazette.com, State / / , , ,

Thousands of deceased Coloradans stayed on the state’s Medicaid rolls, as the state continued paying managed care organizations to cover them, a lapse federal investigators flagged as wasteful in a recent audit.

Colorado made an estimated $7.3 million in capitation payments between 2018 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG). The payments continued for some Coloradans months after their deaths because of outdated reporting and system delays, state officials said.

Colorado taxpayers footed $7.3M bill for dead Medicaid enrollees, audit finds Read More »

Colorado bishops urge Polis to veto abortion funding bill

Catholic News Agency, State / / , , , , ,

The Colorado Catholic bishops are urging state Gov. Jared Polis to veto a bill that would put at least $1.5 million of public funding annually toward Medicaid-covered abortions.

The Tuesday open letter — co-signed by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver, Bishop James Golka of Colorado Springs, and Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo — urged the governor “to consider the millions of Coloradans who do not want their hard-earned tax dollars to be used in the destruction of human life.”

Colorado bishops urge Polis to veto abortion funding bill Read More »

One Sunday, four laws and the collapse of middle ground in Colorado politics

Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories / / , , , , ,

With the clock ticking on the legislative session, Colorado Democrats made their move—advancing four of the year’s most polarizing bills in a single day – Sunday. The marathon legislative blitz was notable not only for its controversial content, but for how it was executed: through rare weekend floor time, party-line votes and multiple Rule 16 motions that cut off debate and silenced opposing voices.

One Sunday, four laws and the collapse of middle ground in Colorado politics Read More »

Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree

State, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories / / , , , ,

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board After years of overreach and unchecked government growth, Colorado lawmakers are now scrambling to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the state budget —

Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree Read More »

Rep. Gabe Evans defends GOP spending bill as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Joe Neguse warn it will slash Medicaid

CBS Colorado, State / / , ,

The Republican spending bill is helping unite the Democratic Party after days of infighting over a GOP resolution to avert a shutdown. Party leaders called for a Medicaid Day of Action to protest the spending bill that they say will mean drastic cuts to Medicaid.

Rep. Gabe Evans defends GOP spending bill as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Joe Neguse warn it will slash Medicaid Read More »

Texas Gov Abbott threatens to defund hospital over medicaid citizenship law dispute

National, The Post Millennial / / , , ,

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is threatening to defund a children’s hospital after a Houston doctor released a video on TikTok telling patients to ignore a new state law requiring they reveal their citizenship when getting treatment.

Texas Gov Abbott threatens to defund hospital over medicaid citizenship law dispute Read More »