health
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‘The program’: Using the homeless to reap Medicaid millions is not new
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Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Colorado Watch series that looked into how homeless people were offered housing and “donations” from a church in return for becoming clients of a home health care agency that billed Medicaid millions. Read the other stories here. Federal rules prohibit anyone from giving any Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary any remuneration —…
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VA mammography lapse in Colorado facility raises new concerns about women’s care
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A VA facility in Aurora has gone more than two years without in-house mammography services, a lapse that federal investigators said contributed to delayed diagnoses, gaps in follow-up care and patient safety concerns for female veterans. Officials with the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System said that the gaps in service did not jeopardize women’s…
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Hantavirus outbreak is not like COVID-19 pandemic, CDC says
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Hantavirus is not a COVID-19 sequel. Infectious disease experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who refer to the outbreak on the cruise ship that’s been in the news as the Andes virus, describe the risk to the American public as “extremely low” because it is not spread as easily from person-to-person as…
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Hickenlooper hears stories on Medicaid, health costs at Denver Health
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U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper went to Denver Health on Tuesday to hear how rising health care costs and federal policy changes are affecting patients. He got an earful. Hospital staff shared stories about Medicaid patients who lost eligibility — and then a limb or their life. Dr. Stephanie Augustine, a family medicine physician, told of…
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Colorado measles cases surge, near highest level in decades
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With nearly 20 measles cases so far this year, Colorado is on track to record its highest number of infections since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed a measles case in an unvaccinated Lake County teenager. As of April 28,…
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9 Colorado hospitals at risk of closing due to Medicaid cuts
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The $900 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade could threaten the viability of more than 400 hospitals nationally and at least nine in Colorado, a new report has found. The hospitals span the Front Range and rural communities, from Denver Health — the region’s primary safety-net provider — to smaller hospitals in places…
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Unsustainable: How Colorado’s Medicaid spending exploded
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The state’s Medicaid program — which covers about one in four Coloradans — is poised for its largest single-year jump in at least two decades, with officials proposing a $2.3 billion increase, even as lawmakers face a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. The data shows Medicaid enrollment has grown steadily, while spending has increased far more…
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Measles outbreak prompts 80 exclusions at Broomfield schools
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Eighty unvaccinated students and staff at Broomfield middle and high schools are not allowed to attend class in the wake of a measles outbreak, state health officials confirmed Tuesday. The majority of the exclusions are students, but they also include several staff members, Hope Shuler, a spokesperson with the Colorado Department of Public Health and…
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Colorado board delays vote on banning soda purchases with SNAP benefits
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The Colorado Board of Human Services voted to delay its decision on whether to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to use benefits to buy soft drinks. Under the “Healthy Choice Waiver,” SNAP recipients would be prohibited from using benefits to purchase sweetened beverages with less than 50% fruit or vegetable juice by volume, such…
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Colorado declares measles outbreak after third case linked to Broomfield school
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An unvaccinated Adams County child who tested positive for measles is tied to a case from Broomfield High School last month, leading state health officials to declare an outbreak. Colorado has four measles cases to date, amid a national outbreak. The other cases are in Broomfield and Arapahoe counties. The latest case, state officials said,…