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Dear CCMU Members,
When I joined CCMU in early May, I thought it
was a great time of year to start a new job- the legislative session
was over and I would have time to settle in. Boy, was I
wrong! We couldn't be busier! Already we are
gearing up for next year's legislative session- particularly
with the 2010: All Kids Covered initiative.
Based on our successes this past session, we'll tackle even more
challenging issues in 2009. We have partnered with other
health care reform advocates to make a slate of recommendations for
Senator Hagedorn's Centennial Care Choices initiative
(Senate Bill 217) and will continue to work in partnership to promote
covering more Coloradans. Our first report from our KidzBlitz
initiative, Breaking Barriers, has been released-and compliments
the findings of the Colorado State Auditor's Performance Audit of the Child
Basic Health Plan (CHP+). Both reports
show we have a long way to go to assure eligible but unenrolled
children receive coverage.
Our Board of Director's will soon undergo a strategic planning
session- topping the list will be fleshing out activities to
increase the public will for health care reform through strengthening
CCMU's memberships and partnerships, enhancing our fiscal
sustainability and administration, and positioning CCMU in the
current health care environment to achieve greatest impact
for assuring health care for the medically
underserved. We will keep you up-to-date on these efforts
through this newsletter and other timely communications.
I want to thank Katherine Blair for her efforts on behalf of
KidzBlitz and 2010: All Kids Covered. She has kept CCMU on
steady course through a time of transition. Katherine heads off
to law school in August and we are preparing for yet another transition.
Stay tuned during this exciting time and thank you for your continued
support.
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National Reports Look at Satus of Colorado Kids
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In recent months, statistics on Colorado have received national
attention. While Coloradans usually rejoice over national news
coverage for being among the healthiest, beautiful, growing, and
well-educated states, there is little cause for celebration this time
around as the focus is on how poorly Colorado is caring for its
kids. Reports released by local and national organizations,
including the Every Child Matters Education Fund, the Commonwealth
Fund, and the Colorado Children's Campaign, have spotlighted
intertwined issues ranging from education spending to healthcare
access to growth in the poverty rate among children. Living in
poverty, especially for children, can lead to life-long struggles
with educational, health, emotional, and other difficulties.
Highlights (or, perhaps, lowlights) from the reports include:
Poverty
- 180,000 Colorado kids (15.7%) live in
poverty, meaning their families make less than 100% of the
Federal Poverty Level, which is $21,200 for a family of four in
2008.
- In addition, 45% of impoverished children
live in extreme poverty, with family incomes less than 50% of
the Federal Poverty Level.
- Colorado had an increase of 73% for children living in poverty
between 2000-2006, the largest increase nationwide. (CCC)
Health & Well-Being
- Colorado is listed in the bottom 50% among all states for more
than half of the indicators examined for child well-being. 2
- Colorado ranked 48th in providing children with adequate access
to healthcare, ahead of only Texas
and Florida.
3
- Colorado ranks 41st in its uninsured rate among children, with
14.6% (176,000) of kids uninsured (176,000). 2
- Despite other statistics, Colorado in the
top 10% of states for the potential for children to lead healthy
lives due to low child mortality rate and chance of
developmental delays. 3
"These reports
demonstrate the importance of continuing our work towards improving
the quality of and access to healthcare in Colorado" says CCMU Executive
Director, Deborah Colburn. "Particularly for children,
whose future success and wellbeing is so directly tied to receiving
healthcare in their early years, Colorado has no choice but to
improve on these measures."
1 Colorado Children's
Campaign's "Kids Count 2008"
2 Every Child Matters
Education Fund's "Georgraphy Matters"
3 Commonwealth Fund's
"State Scorecard on Health System Performance"
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Over 50 Members Attend
Annual Meeting
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On May 21, CCMU hosted its Annual Membership
Meeting at Exempla
St. Joseph Hospital. The event
featured speakers from the Colorado Health Institute for a
presentation on the state of Colorado's
Safety Net, a special thank you for former Executive Director Molly
Markert, and a warm welcome for incoming Executive Director, Deborah
Colburn. For information on becoming a member of CCMU, send an
email inquiry to membership@ccmu.org.
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SAVE THE DATE
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"Keeping
the Momentum"
12th Annual
CCMU Conference
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Friday,
September 26
8:00am-5:00pm
Featuring*
Dr. Neal Halfon
UCLA Center for Healthier
Children, Families & Communities
Chief
Medical Officer
Medicare and Medicaid Services
Governor Bill Ritter
*speakers
are invited and subject to change
_______________________________
(formerly the
Radisson)
3200 South Parker Road
at I-225
Registration
begins August 1 at www.ccmu.org.
For
more information
and
sponsorship opportunities,
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KidzBlitz Releases Report on
System Barriers
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In conjunction with its first anniversary,
CCMU's KidzBlitz program released a report this spring analyzing
barriers families face when trying to access public health care
programs, such as Medicaid and CHP+. Thanks to the
contributions of Steering Committee Volunteers, families, and
community partners, the report, "Breaking Barriers: Analysis and
Recommendations to Improve Family Experiences with Public Health
Programs in Colorado"
was well-received by policymakers and program administrators
statewide. In addition to being featured on Colorado Public
Radio, the report made recommendations on system improvements ranging
from outreach to re-enrollment that have been confirmed by other
reports, including those by Covering Kids and Families and the
Colorado State Auditor.
Click here to view and
download the KidzBlitz report (.pdf).
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2008 Legislative Session A Success
for Healthcare Reform
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Healthcare issues received a great amount of
attention in the 2008 General Session of the Colorado State
Legislature. With the support of the Health Policy Committee
and the help of lobbyist Jennifer Miles, CCMU monitored over
forty-one bills throughout the session, thirty-six of which have been
signed into law by Governor Ritter.
Major successes for CCMU's platform include:
- Senate Bill 160, which increases
eligibility levels and improves quality of care for Medicaid and
the Colorado Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+).
- Senate Bill 161, which removes barriers to
Medicaid and CHP+ by providing a low-cost administrative option
for verifying income.
- Senate Bill 217, which sets the stage for
potential statewide health care reform through investigating a
public-private partnership that would provide a coverage option
for all Coloradans.
For details on specific
legislation monitored, supported, or opposed by CCMU, please
click here for
legislation that was passed in the 2008 legislative session and
click here for
legislation that failed this year.
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