Health Care

Colorado legislative opioid committee has 6 bills aimed at treatment, prevention ready for session

DENVER – The 2018 legislative session is still more than two months out, but a package of six bills aimed at opioid addiction treatment and prevention is already queued up for consideration.

The bipartisan Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee voted Tuesday to move ahead with the bills, which the lawmakers say will help curb the rising use of opioids and heroin.

The bills, according to Democratic leaders of the committee, would do several things to address the issue. Continue reading

Colorado Congress members want review of drug bill that cost Tom Marino ‘drug czar’ nomination

DENVER – Some of Colorado’s federal lawmakers say they are reviewing the ramifications of a 2016 law, of which two of the state’s congressmen cosponsored early versions, that some say has handcuffed the Drug Enforcement Administration in its fight against drug companies—something that was uncovered in a joint Washington Post-60 Minutes investigation published last week.

The two Republican members of Congress – Rep. Mike Coffman and Sen. Cory Gardner, who was in the House of Representatives when he cosponsored the bills – did not, however, put their names on the bill that contained the final language now being blamed by some for neutering the DEA’s diversion program, which aims to stop the flow of pharmaceuticals and scheduled drugs to non-official sources.

And they and other members of Congress from Colorado, who were present when the bill passed both the Senate and House unanimously, say the law may have created “unintended consequences” for the DEA’s power over the opioid manufacturers that might need to be fixed.

Several legislators have endorsed new bills that would reverse the language written into the law, but those from Colorado have yet to sign on, saying they are reviewing the matter. Continue reading

Michael Bennet pitches public option as bipartisan senators say they have deal to fund ACA subsidies

DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Tuesday pitched a public option health care measure as a bipartisan panel of senators he’s been part of announced it had reached a deal to fund insurer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that President Trump has stopped paying for the time being.

Bennet had scheduled an informational call for Colorado journalists regarding his and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia’s “Medicare-X” measure, but the deal reached by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., took precedent on the call. Continue reading

Sen. Michael Bennet to unveil public option health plan aimed at rural areas this week: ‘Medicare-X’

DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will unveil legislation this week to bring a public option to the federal health care system that is seen as a middle point between those pushing for a single-payer system and possibly some Republicans who are on the fence about repealing and replacing the law altogether.

Bennet and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., first unveiled the plan Monday in a Washington Post story, and are expected to further elaborate upon the plan on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading

Opioid-related deaths fell 6.5% after recreational marijuana legalized in Colorado, research finds

DENVER – Opioid-related deaths fell by more than 6 percent in Colorado in the two years after the state started selling recreational marijuana, according to new research published in November’s edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers who conducted the study found the 6.5-percent reduction represented “a reversal of” a 14-year increasing trend in opioid-related deaths in Colorado since 2000. Continue reading

Colorado premiums will rise by 6% on top of existing hikes after Trump ends CSR subsidy payments

DENVER – Health insurance premiums being offered by insurers in Colorado in 2018 will go up by an additional average of 6 percent – beyond the increases already in place – because of President Trump’s decision to stop making cost-sharing reduction subsidy payments.

The state’s insurance commissioner, Marguerite Salazar, made the announcement Friday afternoon, and like Gov. John Hickenlooper, called Trump’s decision “cruel and irresponsible.” Continue reading

Colorado insurance commissioner warns Trump health care order could spell end of employer coverage

DENVER – Colorado’s insurance commissioner said Thursday afternoon that President Trump’s executive order aimed at solving his promise to repeal and replace the federal health care law will “cause problems” for the state’s health insurance market and warned it could end employer-provided coverage in the state.

“Expanding association health plans and short-term health insurance without [Affordable Care Act] protections will fracture the individual and small group markets,” Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar said. Continue reading

Bennet, Gardner cosponsoring legislation to restore CHIP funding through 2022

DENVER – Both of Colorado’s U.S. senators are cosponsoring a bill that would extend federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2022 and make some changes that give states more flexibility in working with the program.

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing said Monday it anticipates Colorado will run out of its federal funding left over from the past fiscal year for CHP+, the state CHIP program, by January if Congress doesn’t move to extend the funding. Continue reading

Partisan fighting continues to kick off Colorado special session; Senate committee kills measure

DENVER – Republicans in a Colorado Senate committee kicked off the first special session in Colorado in five years by killing one of two measures brought forth by Democrats aimed at fixing a bill-drafting mistake that left several special districts in the state without the ability to collect on a state marijuana tax.

On a party-line vote, the Senate Transportation Committee struck down the first measure, continuing to push Republicans’ stance that the special session is unnecessary and that the tax fix needs to be sent to voters. Continue reading