Health

With the ongoing healthcare debate continuing in Congress, the question of the day is this: Can other communities replicate the Grand Junction model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare? With an emphasis on primary care and prevention, providers in this western Colorado city and surrounding area emphasize that certain elements of its successful system can...
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Grand Junction’s heavily non-profit system of health care: -Saved Colorado $2 million a year in Medicaid reimbursements between 2003 and 2005 -Saved the federal government $13.2 million on Medicare from 2000 to 2002 -Is the most cost-effective deliverer of services for chronic diseases in the nation -Hospitalized patients one-third as many days as the national average -Saved $5,150 per...
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Phil Smith was told by physicians outside Colorado that he would likely have to endure painful and expensive surgery to ease his back pain. He returned home to Grand Junction, where doctors suggested he could try another cure: a simple 30-second exercise. It worked. Smith's story exemplifies how Grand Junction is providing high quality...
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A comparison of diseases -- ranging from diabetes to heart disease and arthritis -- between residents of Grand Junction and McAllen, Tex., which has among the highest rates in the country.
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Providers collaborate to emphasize preventive care for all and the reduction of complications in cases of major chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. A non-profit hospice emphasizes comfort for the dying over futile chemotherapy and surgery, extending life an average of 10 days and saving $5,150 for every person who dies there. The one dominant...
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After Ryan Fiegel fell into a coma in the wake of a brain tumor in February, his parents made the tough decision to move him to Grand Junction’s community hospice to live out his remaining days among friends, family and a caring staff.
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Grand Junction's Marillac Clinic delivers options -- and high-quality care -- to uninsured people who are not poor enough for Medicaid’s low income limits.
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Medicare spending in the last two years of life shows the dramatic differences between McAllen, Tex., and Grand Junction, Colo. McAllen has the highest-cost and lowest-quality care in the nation while Grand Junction is ranked among cities with the lowest cost and highest quality. The Hospital Care Intensity (HCI) Index shows how much local health...
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Medicare ranked more than 300 cities for quality of healthcare in 2005, with the lowest at 69.52 to and the highest at 95.56. Grand Junction, one of the lowest-cost communities, ranked high in quality.
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Researchers use average annual spending on Medicare patients to compare the cost of healthcare. Search this chart to find out how your city ranks in Medicare spending per patient. This is from 2006 data published by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.
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Average annual spending per Medicare patient differs dramatically. 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. Grand Junction’s costs are well under half the $14,946 average in McAllen, which is second most...
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Every day, more Americans are finding themselves needing health care, but without health insurance. In Colorado alone, that’s 850,000 people. We’ll tell you where to turn and how to find help — even if you are pregnant and uninsured. We’ll tackle how to find care urgently, and where to look for insurance.
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Pregnancy is a difficult time as it is, without being faced with the additional worry of having no insurance. But there are more options than you may realize for having your baby with quality medical care.
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This is the excerpt for the post titled "No health insurance: Statistics." Since web articles can be, and often are, viewed out of context, it's a good idea to write excerpts for every post.
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IF YOU NEED MEDICAL CARE NOW: 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. When you make your appointment, say, “I’m paying at the time of my appointment with cash (or credit card). How much...
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