behavioral health
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Bills spending $450 million for Colorado’s behavioral health system advance
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Bills seeking to pour $450 million into Colorado’s behavioral health system are steadily advancing with only a month left in this year’s legislative session. Gov. Jared Polis and other state leaders gathered at the Capitol Thursday to tout progress toward making the state’s single largest investment to expand access to behavioral health care, thanks to…
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Colorado legislators introduce first bills to spend $850 million for housing, behavioral health
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Colorado’s legislators finally rolled a half-dozen bills that start to direct $850 million in spending for affordable housing and behavioral health five days shy of the halfway mark for the 2022 General Assembly session. The six bipartisan bills are tied to two task forces that came up with recommendations on how to spend the federal…
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Bill seeks to divert people with behavioral health disorders out of criminal justice system into treatment
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A bill in the Colorado Senate aims to prevent people with mental health issues from entering the criminal justice system and instead send them to treatment centers that can address their psychological needs. A Senate panel unanimously advanced Senate Bill 10 on Thursday, moving it forward to the appropriations committee. If enacted, the bill would expand statewide…
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Task forces issue long-awaited recommendations on $1 billion housing, behavioral health spending
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The Democratic establishment quickly lined up behind recommendations to spend roughly a billion dollars in federal aid on a slew of housing and behavioral health programs, notably money for a revolving loan fund and increasing adult inpatient and residential care. The recommendations, which two legislative task forces unveiled on Monday, will be turned into legislation that is…
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COVER STORY | Hot Topics of the 2022 General Assembly
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With 2022 an election year, lawmakers traditionally back off a bit from introducing controversial bills. That’s why they have approved some of the biggest measures of the past six years – oil and gas reform, Colorado option, climate change and greenhouse gas – in odd-numbered years when they worry less about voter reactions at the ballot box. Will…
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Warning signs belie low uninsured rate across Colorado
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The ever-increasing cost of health care – and increasingly skimpy insurance plans – are threatening to undo progress made under the Affordable Care Act in helping people access care and pay for it, a comprehensive biennial survey has found. Colorado’s uninsured rate held steady this year at 6.5%, according to the 2019 Colorado Health Access…
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Access to mental health, substance abuse treatment in Colorado getting worse, survey finds
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Coloradans say it’s only getting harder to access mental health and substance abuse treatment due to stigma and the prohibitively high cost of therapy. The number of Coloradans who went without needed mental health care in the previous year nearly doubled from 2017, according to the most recent Colorado Health Access Survey by the Colorado…
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Polis announces task force to reform Colorado’s behavioral health care system
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Governor Jared Polis on Monday announced the creation of a behavioral health task force aimed at overhauling Colorado’s system for treating people battling mental illness and substance abuse. The announcement came a day after The Gazette published a special report that found Colorado’s mental health system is in crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Coloradans…
