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Health reform will mean lower costs for Colorado consumers, study finds
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Health care
Denver Post commentary: In Colorado, health care reform means lower costs
To a significant extent, relief may well come in the form of the new national health reform law. Amidst mixed public sentiment and legal and political challenges to the Affordable Care Act, a Colorado-specific study projects that this new law will slow health care cost increases, spur economic activity and create jobs in our state.
Also: Health Policy Solutions: Study: 'job-creating health law' could also shrink insurance premiums
Denver Daily News: Provider fee repeal shelved
Rep. Janak Joshi yesterday shelved his proposal to repeal the hospital provider fee in Colorado, saying he did not have support to repeal the 2009 law.
Also: Durango Herald: Ritter's $600M hospital fee survives
Pueblo Chieftain editorial: Devastating
Closure of the second-largest employer in Bent County would be devastating to the rural community's economy. The Las Animas and McClave school districts would face a substantial loss of students whose parents would be transferred to other state prisons, and that would result in plunging state aid for the schools.
Health Policy Solutions commentary: Building a credible health exchange
Colorado is in the early stages of implementing a key part of national health reform that will make a big difference for people worried about getting affordable, quality health insurance. Beginning in 2014, a health insurance exchange will open a door to health coverage for tens of thousands of Coloradans. The question is whether Colorado will create an exchange that serves our interests well. By Colorado Center on Law and Policy Health Care Program Director Elisabeth Arenales.
Denver Business Journal: More Colorado residents insured in 2010 than 2009
A greater percentage of Coloradans had health insurance in 2010 than were insured in 2009, according to a state report released Tuesday.
Fiscal policy
Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder considers bonds, tax increases for capital improvements
Boulder voters could be asked this fall to approve using $5 million in newly available revenue to help pay for a backlog of repairs and upgrades to city roads, bridges and buildings.
Huffington Post Denver commentary: Cut Prison Spending First, Not Schools
Gov. John Hickenlooper has proposed $570 million in budgets cuts, hacking off $332 million from K-12 education and trimming only a paltry $10 million from prisons.
Associated Press via Colorado Springs Business Journal: Republicans: Cut Colo. soda tax
Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks could get a bit cheaper in Colorado under a Republican proposal to repeal sales taxes on soda.
Also: Aurora Sentinel editorial: Proposed tax repeal not such a sweet deal
Glenwood Springs Post-Independent: CMC tuitions to increase starting this summer
Next academic year, students at Colorado Mountain College will feel the effects of a down economy. The college's board of trustees decided Monday to increase tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year after anticipating cuts in two of the college's three main sources of revenue: property taxes and state funding. The hike equates to about an 8 percent increase for in-district students.
Justice
Colorado Springs Business Journal: Colorado Bar opposes federal cuts to legal aid
The Colorado Bar Association is opposed to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that cuts $70 million in funding for the Legal Services Corp. The cut, which will be absorbed in the next eight months, will have an impact on Colorado Legal Services, the statewide legal aid program. The LSC anticipates it will have to reduce grants to 136 local legal aid nonprofits by an average of 18 percent.
Durango Herald editorial: Encourage voting
The state of Colorado should not take a step backward - a small step, granted, contrasted with the above travesties - by requiring only a photo identification to vote. While most voters do show a driver's license, it is valid to produce another type of identity confirmation. A utility bill does that, or a bank statement. |
