Coloradans should be able to get the health care they need, when they need it.
Being able to get your health needs met is vital to a healthy life, and health coverage provides peace of mind and financial security. Although Colorado’s health care system still doesn’t work for everyone, we’ve made a lot of headway over the past several years. Center for Health Progress has worked to pass legislation and implement new laws that are helping Coloradans get covered and get care that keeps them working and thriving. We also partner with communities and individuals across the state to create opportunities and eliminate barriers to good health.
Coverage and Care for Colorado’s Children
Convened since 2006, All Kids Covered has been Colorado’s primary collaborative advancing coverage for children, contributing to historically low percentages of uninsured children through a variety of legislative efforts. Center for Health Progress co-manages this coalition with two other organizations, Colorado Children’s Campaign and Covering Kids and Families.
Innovation in Emergency Medical Services
A relatively new model in health care utilizes EMS (emergency medical services) workforce who are specially trained to provide basic but vital services to patients in their homes; this is known as mobile integrated health services or community paramedicine. This reallocates existing resources when they’re not being deployed to respond to emergencies, and proactively brings a health care provider to patients who may have unmet health care needs. This helps patients avoid being readmitted to the hospital or making a trip to the emergency room. After hearing about the public policy barriers facing communities in getting community paramedics recognized as a provider type and and financing this model, Center for Health Progress took action. We brought together interested stakeholders and intensively researched the issue in order to find a solution that ultimately led to the passage of SB16-069 (PDF), a bipartisan state bill.
Access to Care Index
In 2015, our uninsured rate reached a record low. We know this because there is good data readily available measuring the progress we’ve made toward covering all Coloradans. However, getting insurance is only the first step in being able to access health care, and data on access to care is limited. Colorado Health Institute developed a tool to measure access to care in Colorado by combining key data from trusted sources in one place. It measures the availability of health care, the services being accessed, and the barriers Coloradans experience in trying to access it. The Colorado Access to Care Index measures access to care by region, across the state, as well as by demographic group.
Explore the various indices:
- Colorado Access to Care Index Overview
- INDEX – Adults (PDF)
- INDEX – Children (PDF)
- INDEX – Ethnicity (Hispanic) (PDF)
- INDEX – Income (PDF)
For more information, please contact our Director of Health Systems Change, Aubrey Hill.