Latest Colorado news brought to you from KUNC Public Radio Colorado News
Rebecca Yanes recently made repeated trips to the hospital emergency room. She exemplifies how one percent of the U.S. population eats up 30 percent of the money feeding the country’s healthcare system. It's a trend some health professionals are working to eliminate
Beginning July 1, Colorado patients will start saving hundreds and even thousands of dollars on medical equipment because, after a 10-year delay, Medicare is switching to competitive bidding in the Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas.
People who sit for hours at a stretch are far more likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast and colon cancer. Colorado workers - and their bosses - are embracing a new concept: Stand up and work.
Coloradans are four times more likely to die of suicide by gun than homicide by gun. According to the state health department, Colorado recorded 571 firearms-related deaths in 2011. Of those, 442 were from suicide.
Colorado Public News has rocked it again, winning nine awards for journalism excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists Top of the Rockies contest. Among the wins this year: Two first place awards and a sweep of the Health Enterprise
The Colorado Health Foundation just released its annual report card on the current health of Coloradans in dozens of categories. This year, Colorado ranked tops in physical activity for teens and older adults, and for the highest use of condoms by teens. Nationally, we’re hovering toward the the bottom for, among others, children getting dental care. Keep reading for more.
People who sit for hours at a stretch are far more likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast and colon cancer. Colorado workers – and their bosses – are embracing a new concept: Stand up and work.
The Colorado State Patrol reduced enforcement of highway safety in 2011 and 2012. During those years, traffic-related deaths on state highways spiked, reversing a dramatic 9-year decline in highway deaths. In January, the 42-year old chief of the state patrol was paid $90,000 to retire
Nineteen-year-old Vesha Gilbert’s toothache had become so unbearable, she ended up where no one wants to be: Sitting in a dentist’s chair, cringing at the thought of having her decayed back molar pulled. “I’m scared, but I’m glad I’m here,”
When you dial 911 in Colorado, first responders on interstates and in rural parts of the state usually show up in a fire truck. And, they are likely to be volunteers – people whose day jobs range from lawyers to butchers to high school students
Physicians at the University of Colorado Hospital are finding startling success with medications that are made to match the genes of a particular lung cancer
The notion of a kindly doctor at your doorstep, black bag in hand and ready to treat your sore throat, seems as old-fashioned as a Model T. But for patients who are too sick or frail to make it to the doctor’s office, patient house calls are making a comeback in Colorado
The nation is in the midst of a resurgence in childhood tooth decay. So the top U.S. dental associations now recommend a first visit when a child has just one tooth. That can be as young as six months
Kelli Rose is 46 and healthy, with never a day in the hospital. But still, the only health insurance available to her has a $15,000 deductible and would cost up to $500 a month. Asked if she has $15,000 in
An unusually high number of African-American babies are being born premature, underweight or both, and not surviving
One in three Americans die from heart disease or strokes. That amounts to 2,200 deaths every day. Colorado cardiologist Dr. Richard Collins believes a way to fight this trend is to tackle the illness before it starts, simply by teaching people how to eat better
In a five-part series, Colorado Public News examines how Grand Junction, Colo. has emerged as a model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare. ♦ Part 1 details how health care professionals have
Part 1: Grand Junction healthcare is a model of low cost and high quality3
Grand Junction delivers some of the best healthcare in the nation, at the lowest cost. And in this western Colorado community of 53,000, nearly everyone has health coverage. In this story, the first of five parts, reporter Bill Scanlon details how the city and surrounding region is emerging as a national model for excellence in public healthcare
Medicare spends just $5,873 per year on the average recipient in Grand Junction, compared to a national average of $8,304, according to the Atlas of Health Care published by Dartmouth University.
Search this chart to find out how your city ranks in Medicare spending per patient.
If you need health care right now…3
If you have no health insurance, and things are getting desperate because you or loved ones are already sick, you still have options.
You can bargain with your doctor. And your hospital. Instead of being scared away from needed medical care by high prices, talk to your health care provider up front, and ask for a discount.
Mother puts her children first for healthcare0
Liz Barnett stood in line, desperate and scared — scared for herself, her children and her bank account. Strange what losing health insurance can do to one’s self-confidence.
Tips & links: No health insurance0
You may be able to negotiate major discounts -- up to 50 percent -- by paying cash, so the doctor doesn't have to deal with insurance company paperwork.
Email: newsroom@cpt12.org
Phone: (303) 991-7525
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