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Polis Moves Colorado Into WHO Network After US Withdrawal
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Polis Moves Colorado Into WHO Network After US Withdrawal

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 The move is the latest in a series of actions Colorado has undertaken amid shakeup in federal health policy. DENVER — Colorado has been accepted into a network of more than 360 institutions as the state seeks to stay ahead of emerging public health threats following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization earlier this year. “We are thrilled to join the World Health Organization’s GOARN network, especially during a time when federal public health guidance is becoming less consistent,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “Disease does not stop at borders, and this partnership helps ensure Colorado is better prepared to protect people and respond quickly to emerging threats.” The WHO’s Global Out...
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Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While much of the country is finally beginning to turn the corner on fentanyl, Colorado is heading in the opposite direction. And the human cost is staggering. Colorado’s numbers are still moving up—synthetic opioid deaths have climbed 17 percent since December 2024. Elsewhere, the trend has started to turn. Across the country, overdose deaths have dropped 26.9 percent, according to the CDC, the steepest one-year decline of the crisis and the lowest levels since 2019. Colorado isn’t just behind. It stands apart. A March 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute puts that gap into focus: 1,620 excess deaths. In other words, that’s how many more Coloradans died from synthetic opioid overdoses between ...
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Colorado’s EMS savings promise: Too soon to celebrate
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s EMS savings promise: Too soon to celebrate

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I thought the headline of the KUNC article below was quite provocative. The title is, in full, "Ambulance services would get funding boost while saving Colorado millions under new bill." Bit too certain, I thought. Not so much the first part, but the latter bit: "...while saving Colorado millions." First, to the bill. The KUNC article is linked first below, with the bill underneath it. Screenshots 1a and 1b are the summary of what the bill does from its fiscal note. Skipping a lot of detail the bill allows EMS workers to do more treatments "in place", where and when they are called out or encounter someone needing medical attention in lieu of scooping everyone up and taking them to the ...
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Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws

By Jacob Mauk | Colorado Politics Overdose deaths from opioids rose in Colorado, diverging from the national trend, which has been decreasing, according to a new study from a think tank. In its new report, the Common Sense Institute said synthetic opioid overdose deaths in Colorado have grown by 17% since November 2024, the third-fastest growth rate in the country. The only states with higher spike rates are Arizona and New Mexico, according to the report. If Colorado had followed the national trend, some 1,600 lives could have been saved, the study said, adding the opioid deaths represented a cost of roughly $18.3 billion. “While this number does not encompass the entire value of human life, it does indicate that lives lost due to fentanyl and other opioids red...
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Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Critics Warn Senate Bill 66 Could Limit Affordable Weight Loss Treatments In Colorado

By: Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado For decades, Colorado has led the way in legalizing non-FDA approved drugs for use as experimental medicines, including marijuana and other psychedelics. So, I couldn’t believe it when I heard about Senate Bill 26-066, “Regulation of Compounded Weight Loss Medication,” which slaps onerous restrictions on Coloradans’ ability to obtain life-changing, and relatively inexpensive versions of GLP-1 weight loss drugs from compounding pharmacies. A favor to pharma There are so many reasons to oppose this bill, I honestly don’t know how anyone could support the “bi-partisan” effort of Democrat Iman Jodeh and Republican John Carson, other than as a political favor to big pharma. After listening to all the testimony on the bill (as well a...
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Polis Joins Other Blue States And Aligns Colorado With WHO Global Health Network
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Polis Joins Other Blue States And Aligns Colorado With WHO Global Health Network

By John Daley | Colorado Public Radio Last month, the Trump administration announced a breakup: its official withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization. The president initiated the split with an executive order on the first day in office of his second term. But Gov. Jared Polis clearly thinks a global health partnership has value.  He said Friday that Colorado intends to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak and Response Network, a step which will mean the state will work more directly with the WHO to ensure its “cutting-edge health science can benefit Coloradans.” The move follows other states and one city that also have Democratic leaders. The World Health Organization said last week, California, Illinois, New York a...
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Colorado Board Eases Birth Certificate Rules Offering Hope To Long Overlooked Residents
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Board Eases Birth Certificate Rules Offering Hope To Long Overlooked Residents

By: Jaclyn Allen | Denver7 Board of Health approves change to delayed birth certificate rule, calls for legislative fix. DENVER — After Denver7 Investigates reported on the issue of Colorado's "ghosts" last year, the Colorado Board of Health unanimously voted Thursday to remove one of the most restrictive requirements in the state’s delayed birth certificate rules. It's a change advocates say will open the door for many Coloradans who have lived for years without proof of their birth. The new rule replaces the requirement that applicants provide at least one document created before their 10th birthday with the requirement that at least one document be 10 years old at the time of application. Advocates say the previous standard created a “lifetime bar”...
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California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota File Suit Over Federal Health Cuts
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CBS News, Approved, National

California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota File Suit Over Federal Health Cuts

By The Associated Press | CBS News Four Democratic-led states that have become frequent targets of President Donald Trump sued Wednesday to try to block his administration from cutting off hundreds of millions in public health grants. The Department of Health and Human Services told Congress on Monday that it planned to withhold about $600 million in grant funding allocated to the four states: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Their attorneys general argue the cuts are backlash for the states' opposition to Trump's immigration crackdown. The lawsuit says the cuts violate the Constitution by imposing retroactive conditions on funding and asks a federal court in Illinois to block them from taking effect. Some grants could be terminated as soon as Thurs...
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Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States

By: Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette The Trump’s administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states, including Colorado. The other states are California, Illinois and Minnesota. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. Colorado has sued the White House or joined lawsuits filed by other states over similar efforts to withhold funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services said the state learned of the potential cuts through the media and has not been formally notified by the federal agency. ...
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Colorado Teen’s Fatal Overdose Leads to Prison Time for Dealers and Boyfriend
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CBS News, Approved, State

Colorado Teen’s Fatal Overdose Leads to Prison Time for Dealers and Boyfriend

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Three Colorado residents are currently serving prison sentences following a 16-year-old girl's drug overdose.  Kaleb Hale bought six pills from a man and woman in Greeley on July 24, 2021, according to court documents. He brought the pills to a friend's home where he and his girlfriend, identified in the court documents only as "J.H.," crushed one pill and snorted a portion of it.  "Once at that residence," federal prosecutors stated in another court document, "J.H. decided to try what would be her first, and last, dose of fentanyl." Hale, then 20 years old, awoke around noon the next day. He had defecated himself and "J.H." had vomited on him, according to the document. She was unconscious and not breathing. He tried to r...
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