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New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The new rule blocks federal dollars from being spent on the care. The change will affect hundreds of transgender youth in Colorado. Colorado will suspend Medicaid coverage for hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care for transgender youth due to a new federal rule, the state agency that oversees the program said. The rule, finalized earlier this month, blocks federal funds from being used to pay for the care for youth. Specifically, the rule applies to coverage for people under 18 who are covered by Medicaid and people under 19 who are covered by a companion program called CHIP, which in Colorado is known as CHP+. The rule affects coverage for hormone therapy and puberty blockers, as well as other procedures. It do...
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Untangling Colorado’s home care Medicaid, one waiver at a time
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Untangling Colorado’s home care Medicaid, one waiver at a time

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Untangling a (rather hefty) reader statement about Medicaid. Be forewarned, the government programs and acronyms pile up fast here. I'll try my best to get around that, but read carefully and slowly.It's been a while because it's taken a while to learn it, but this post is in response to a reader comment about combining some of Colorado's Medicaid services under one banner. Before we can touch on that, however, we have to do some prerequisite work first. A Medicaid waiver seems at first to have no connection to what it actually is, but if you stop and reason it out, the word makes sense. Remember that Medicaid is a program that is run by states, and the states partly fund it. The feds also fund Medicaid via matching dol...
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Colorado Rural Hospitals Fight to Survive as Costs and Regulations Mount
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Rural Hospitals Fight to Survive as Costs and Regulations Mount

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Editor’s Note: Colorado’s healthcare system is entering a period of accelerating instability — a “tsunami,” as multiple leaders describe it — driven by collapsing hospital finances, shrinking Medicaid reimbursements, disappearing services and a political fight over who is responsible for this unraveling. Healthcare Freefall is a multipart series examining how Colorado arrived at this moment, what H.R. 1 will do next and why communities across the state are bracing for deeper shocks. Healthcare Freefall Colorado’s rural hospitals are facing severe financial strain — with 75% operating on unsustainable margins and some worrying they may have to close. Southwest Health CEO John Theine said the situation is especially frustrating, given ...
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Democrats Launch Spanish Language Ad Against Gabe Evans in Key Colorado House Race
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Democrats Launch Spanish Language Ad Against Gabe Evans in Key Colorado House Race

By Ernest Luning | The Denver Gazette A national group tied to House Democratic leadership launched a six-figure Spanish-language TV ad in Colorado this week targeting Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans and the GOP’s signature budget legislation. The 30-second spot is part of $15 million in new TV and digital ad reservations announced earlier this week by House Majority Forward, a nonprofit affiliated with House Majority PAC, covering 19 targeted House districts across the country. The ad is set to run through August on an initial buy of just under $200,000, Punchbowl’s Ally Mutnick reported. Evans is seeking reelection to a second term in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, the state’s most competitive seat. He’s facing a challenge from state Rep. Man...
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White House Pushes Congress To Strengthen Welfare Fraud Laws After Task Force Findings
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The Federalist, Approved, National

White House Pushes Congress To Strengthen Welfare Fraud Laws After Task Force Findings

By: Breccan F. Thies | The Federalist Welfare programs were created in a ‘high trust’ America that no longer exists. THE WHITE HOUSE — Vice President J.D. Vance has been leading the charge against billions in taxpayer fraud. But to mobilize the entire federal government in combating the theft, Vance said Wednesday, Congress needs to create harsher punishments for fraudsters and force states to share data for welfare recipients. Vance hosted a roundtable with members of Congress at the White House midweek, attempting to hammer out plans for legislation to strengthen the executive branch’s ability to investigate fraud and expand prosecutors’ options to penalize Americans and illegals committing fraud. Since the start of Vance’s anti-fraud task force, the gr...
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Colorado Lawmakers Grapple With Strict Rules for $200 Million Rural Health Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Grapple With Strict Rules for $200 Million Rural Health Program

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Members of the Colorado legislature’s new Commission on Medicaid raised concerns Wednesday about the federal Rural Health Transformation Program created under H.R. 1. The bipartisan, bicameral commission, created in the last legislative session to guide implementation of Medicaid changes under H.R. 1, met Wednesday to begin shaping its recommendations. Cristen Bates, deputy Medicaid director at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, told members that Colorado is slated to receive $200 million in federal funding each year for the next five years to support rural health care initiatives. CMS requires states to apply for the Rural Health Transformation Program by November, with awards expected by year’s...
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Report Says Billions Lost to Fraud as Federal Programs Flow Through States
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Just The News, Approved, National

Report Says Billions Lost to Fraud as Federal Programs Flow Through States

By Brett Rowland | Just the News Programs in question include Medicaid, food stamps and disaster relief. Twenty federal programs that route nearly $1.1 trillion through state governments – including Medicaid, SNAP and disaster relief – are vulnerable to fraud because of how the money is distributed, the Government Accountability Office reports. The money rarely goes straight from Washington to a recipient. It passes through states, then often to subrecipients, contractors and subcontractors. Every layer, GAO found, adds another entry point for fraud while making oversight harder to enforce. The report is the first in a planned GAO series examining fraud in state-administered programs. It reaffirms the agency's estimate that the government loses between $233 bi...
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New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Despite having one of the country’s highest median incomes, Colorado families are struggling to afford essentials like food, housing, health care and child care. That’s according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which released its annual Kids Count report recently. It provides an overview of how the state’s infants, children and teens are faring compared to previous years. The report is broken down into four categories: economic security, health, K-12 education and early childhood. “The data remind us of what is at stake and who is relying on us to pay attention,” Heather Tritten, president and CEO of Colorado Children’s Campaign, said in the report. “This is a moment when data matter. In difficult times, c...
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Medicaid Commission Begins Review as Colorado Spending Continues to Climb
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Medicaid Commission Begins Review as Colorado Spending Continues to Climb

By: Nash Herman | Complete Colorado Colorado’s interim Commission on Medicaid has begun meeting to address the explosive growth of the state’s health care spending.  Related concerns are also on the table, such as the management of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF) and fraud, waste, and abuse.  Are legislators attacking these problems from the correct angles? Let’s find out.  Faulty premises The most recent Commission meeting raised questions about the government’s priorities in addressing Medicaid and the state budget.  A recurring theme of discussion —nothing new, yet one that actually exacerbates the very problem the Commission is attempting to address — is the idea that the health care fun...
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Democratic Socialists Target Colorado Springs With Growing Activism And Local Campaigns
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Democratic Socialists Target Colorado Springs With Growing Activism And Local Campaigns

By: Debbie Kelley | Colorado Politics If further proof is needed that the political arena in Colorado Springs isn’t like matchups in Denver, the Democratic Socialists of America is a case in point, say some people involved with the local chapter of the nationwide organization. It’s admittedly been difficult for the Colorado Springs branch of the DSA to organize in the conservative-leaning El Paso County in the successful way that deep-blue Denver has, according to Chauncy Johnson, a democratic socialist who has lost two recent bids for public office. Despite turbulence, local leaders say the chapter is growing and marching toward reaching its goals. As an intermittent card-carrying DSA member for three years, Johnson said he received assistance from the all-volu...
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