Newsweek: According to HealthInsurance.org, the Sunflower State has an estimated 44,000 low-income residents who are stuck in a so-called "coverage gap," which means they earn too little to qualify for subsidized private health coverage but are also ineligible for Medicaid due to the lack of ACA expansion.  Read more »»

New York Times:  You’ll want to make sure you have access to doctors near where you live. If your parents’ plan has nationwide access, that might work fine. But if it’s an H.M.O. in Los Angeles, while you’ll be living in New York, local care through your employer’s plan makes more sense, said Louise Norris, a health policy analyst at Healthinsurance.org, an online information and referral site.  Read more »»

Colorado Sun: Colorado’s Medicaid program reimburses the agencies that employ these in-home nurses at some of the lowest rates in the nation, according to the Home Care and Hospice Association of Colorado. The rate for registered nurses in Colorado is $7.05 per hour below the national median, while the rate for licensed practical nurses is $9.04 below the median, according to the association’s analysis.  Read more »»

Denver Business Journal:  Minneapolis and Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, were all contenders for Portland, Oregon-based consulting firm Propeller’s fourth office. But Jeff Foley, Propeller’s co-founder and COO, said in the end, Denver’s talent pool and innovative culture secured the 124-person firm’s interest.  Read more »»

FierceHealthcare: As drugmakers face billions in legal settlements and judgments, we must keep our eye on what will truly defeat the opioid crisis. The challenge lies not only in the magnitude of the problem but also in systemic failures we must fix. Throwing more money at existing services is simply not enough. Read more »»

Colorado Public Radio: A bill introduced Friday aims to increase that rate by making it harder for parents to exempt their children, but Gov. Jared Polis has indicated he’s skeptical. All the vaccination talk prompted Toni Freed to ask Colorado Wonders: “What is Colorado's policy on mandatory vaccinations and how did it evolve?" To learn that history we spoke with Stephanie Wasserman, executive director the Colorado Children's Immunization Coalition.  Read more »»

Colorado Politics:  Four Colorado legislators will stand up alongside football legend Herschel Walker as Healthier Colorado recognizes their legislative touchdown, Senate Bill 207, which puts money and a plan in place to keep people in mental health crisis from being housed in local jails awaiting a hospital bed. Read more »»

Forbes: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) cost sharing reduction (CSR) program received significant attention last month after U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the Obama administration has unlawfully been distributing billions of taxpayer dollars through the program. Read more »»

Chicago Tribune: You've just graduated from college and you're feeling invincible. But what if you're in an accident or have a health issue? Before you head out into the world, take a few minutes to think about health insurance. Read more »

Wall Street Journal: Sales of short-term health insurance are up sharply since the health law’s major provisions took effect in 2014, according to insurance agencies. New sales figures show the temporary policies, traditionally sold to consumers who are trying to fill coverage gaps for a few months, have continued their surge recently— Read more »

Modern Healthcare: HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell says the tally of 12.7 million people who signed up for 2016 coverage through the insurance exchanges means the Affordable Care Act has created “a product that people want and need.” Read more »

New Republic: "The fall of the iron curtain led to the rise of a curious industry in Hungary. In 1992, the dentist Béla Bátorfi began treating a certain Viktor Orbán, who—as luck would have it for the savvy dentist—would go on to have a highly successful career as a conservative politician..." Read more »

The Denver Post: "An overhaul to the rules for licensed child care centers in Colorado is getting praise from health and child advocates for provisions that ban sugary drinks, limit television viewing and require playground time and healthy meals...." Read More »

The Motley Fool: "Next year is a big one for Obamacare, as several major changes are set to go into effect. Specifically, more employers are now required to offer health coverage to full-time employees, penalties for not obtaining coverage are more severe, and your healthcare premiums may rise significantly...." Read More »

9 News: "The Colorado Board of Human Services approved new nutrition and physical activity standards for the roughly 2,100 licensed child-care facilities and preschools in the state. It will also require facilities to limit 'screen time.'..." Read More »

Fox Business: "UnitedHealth Group (UNH), the nation's biggest healthcare insurer, says offering coverage on the Obamacare exchanges was a bad decision that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. In fact, CEO Stephen Hemsley told investors last week that he may pull the company's offerings...." Read More »

CNBC: "Insurers have asked for double-digit rate increases for nearly 1 out of every 3 Obamacare plans that will be sold on HealthCare.gov for 2016 coverage, according to a new analysis...." Read More »