Date: 08/31/2009
Final
Presentation from Colorado Health Foundation
HEALTH CARE TASK FORCE
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02:44 PM -- Presentation from Colorado Health Foundation
Anne Warhover, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation, introduced herself and provided several handouts to the task force including a power point handout of her presentation, the Colorado Health Report Card 2008, Connecting Colorado's HIT Building Blocks, and a report concerning health insurance benefit adequacy in Colorado from March 2009 (Attachments J, K, L, and M respectively). She described how it is a common misperception that Colorado is already the healthiest state. She stated that Colorado may have the lowest rate of obesity, but a large percentage of the population is overweight. Similarly, she stated that the state attracts healthy people, but the state is not improving the health of its residents overall. She described the foundation's health-related symposium and other healthy living efforts of the foundation. Ms. Warhover described the efforts to improve health in Colorado schools, and funding for community-based health initiatives. She also described how the number of uninsured people hurts health in the state.
Ms. Warhover described the lack of medical staff and facilities in some counties. Representative Massey asked about funding for school-based health centers, and the sustainability of such health centers. Ms. Warhover described efforts to work with other organization to find a model of sustainability for school-based health centers. Ms. Warhover described how centralized billing could help school districts deal with insurance billing codes and other issues. Ms. Warhover discussed grants that were part of the federal stimulus package and the foundation's effort to help community health centers access these funds. She described the inaccessibility of health care in the state, and how it requires collaboration between government, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
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03:01 PM
Grant Jones from the Center for African American Health and the Colorado Health Foundation, discussed access to physical education and good nutrition in schools, and described other issues discussed by the foundation's policy committee. He discussed chronic care management and expanding health coverage. Mr. Jones stated that coverage is an indicator of overall health, and described efforts to increase enrollment of individual eligible for public programs. He discussed the fiscal reform debate in Colorado, and how his organization is involved in these efforts. He described the foundation as a resource for information, not just for funding.