The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Markian Hawryluk was a senior Colorado correspondent for 吃瓜不打烊 until he retired in January 2024.
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Across the country, the recession has cut state revenues at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic has increased costs, forcing state lawmakers into painful decisions about how to balance their budgets. Health care is one of the targets even in the midst of a health care crisis.
Counting deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done. Without widespread testing, officials must sort through presumed COVID deaths and those who died with infections rather than from them. Then there are the indirect deaths of people who died from circumstances created by the pandemic.
As an electron microscopist at the National Institutes of Health鈥檚 Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Elizabeth Fischer has captured stunning images of emerging pathogens such as Ebola, the MERS coronavirus and now SARS-CoV-2.
From cafeteria staff to doctors and nurses, hospital workers around the country report frustrating failures by management to notify them when they have been exposed to co-workers or patients known to be infected with COVID-19.
As Colorado gradually reopens, a beauty salon in Loveland is swamped as its clients clamor for haircuts, trims and color. But business isn鈥檛 exactly back to normal as new precautions slow every step.
With hospitals struggling to get more ventilators, they must ensure every ventilator they have is ready for service. But manufacturers limit who can repair them.
Most of the attention in the COVID-19 pandemic has been on how the virus affects the lungs. But evidence shows that up to 1 in 5 hospitalized patients have signs of heart damage and many are dying due to heart problems.
U.S. pandemic planning envisioned the possibility of using CPAP machines for milder cases of COVID-19 when ventilators are in short supply. But evidence suggests that the machines, commonly used by people with sleep apnea, can aerosolize and possibly spread the virus. That leaves hospitals with few good alternatives if the demand for ventilators exceeds the supply.
A Colorado lawmaker giving birth near the start of the state鈥檚 four-month legislative session highlighted the lack of comprehensive paid family leave. Yet a bill to add a statewide system that once seemed a sure thing is getting bogged down.
If a coronavirus pandemic were to hit the U.S., only 36 states have blueprints for 鈥渃risis standards of care鈥 to sort out who gets what kind of medical care amid scarce resources. And not all the plans are of high quality. That means health care providers in some states will be better prepared for a crisis than others 鈥 but all could face tough decisions.
Since gaining control of the House, Senate and governor鈥檚 office, Colorado Democrats are pushing an aggressive health care agenda. With measures to create a public insurance option, welcome drug importation, lower drug prices, curtail surprise billing and cap insulin copays, the state is becoming a likely model for health policies at the federal level.
Small hospitals and patients in rural areas have been hit hard by the boom in high-deductible health plans. Often when a patient arrives at a rural hospital needing critical care, the person is stabilized and transferred to a larger facility. But bills from the first site of care generally get applied to the patient鈥檚 deductible. When patients can鈥檛 afford their deductible, the smaller hospital winds up eating the costs.
American marijuana has a reputation for being the best in the world. But the federal prohibition on marijuana makes shipments across state lines or overseas a pipe dream. While U.S. firms expect the restrictions to drop in the coming years, they are stuck operating within state borders. That鈥檚 left Canadian cannabis growers to dominate the export market, with U.S. firms falling further behind each year.
A 3-year-old girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required an emergency department visit 鈥 and generated a bill that is not child鈥檚 play.
Colorado, like a number of states, is struggling to deal with returned mail sent out by its Medicaid, SNAP and other aid programs. Now people could lose benefits after just a single piece of returned mail.
Hospital systems now invest in housing to help some of their most frequent patients. This allows them to safely discharge patients who otherwise would have no place to go, freeing up beds for sicker patients and saving the hospitals money.
One groom鈥檚 bachelor party hangover illustrates how emergency room bills have become major headaches for many Americans.
Wyoming is taking on expensive air ambulance bills by trying to expand Medicaid to cover transport for all patients. This is a big change: a red state seeking to control what's been a growing free-market bonanza.
Obesity prevention does not get much attention in Colorado, often billed as the healthiest state. Yet more than 1 in 4 black or Hispanic residents are obese, as state and federal public health spending fuels other needs.
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