health

Articles: The Bell Policy Center releases Colorado: The State of Opportunity 2005 Report, National studies document the benefits of child care, Congress considers legislation to limit funding for child care, Interim committee offers ideas to expand health insurance coverage, U.S. health care system: costly and disorganized, The rich get richer as income gap widens, Despite headwinds, economists predict Colorado economy will add jobs

Articles: Legislative interim committees lay foundation for '06 session, Special state commission sets goals to improve high schools, Health care coverage hard to get for part-time, temp and contract workers, The rich reap most benefits from capital gains tax cuts, Despite low inflation, ???real??? wages remain stagnant, Congress encourages automatic enrollment in 401(k) retirement plans

Articles: National report card shows Colorado economy gaining ground, Are Colorado graduates prepared for college or work?, Many students eligible for financial aid are not applying, West tops national average for tuition and fee increases, Health savings accounts a boon ??? to the wealthy and healthy, Working adults most likely to lack health insurance, Recommendations to help Colorado micro-enterprises, Automatic IRAs expand retirement savings, Michigan governor proposes universal 401(k) plans

Articles: Health-care spending continues to outpace growth of economy, Economic security for low-income families, Many states closing educational ???expectations gap???, CCHE moves forward with new financial aid model, Health care costs squeeze higher ed funding, Employer spending on benefits grows more than on wages, Will health savings accounts reduce health care spending?, Strong state laws against predatory lending work, Net worth, income and savings gaps exist between white and minority . . .

An active and healthy childhood and adolescence is an important gateway to a life of opportunity. Eating right , exercising and avoiding high-risk behaviors are fundamental choices that impact short- and long-term health, social, educational and economic opportunities.

Maintaining good physical health throughout adulthood is an important gateway to opportunity. Good health contributes to improved job productivity and increased self-worth and self-sufficiency.

Medicaid is a publicly financed source of health insurance and long-term care coverage for certain eligible population groups. After employerbased coverage, it is the second largest source of health coverage in the nation. Medicaid is anticipated to cover 8.3 percent of Colorado???s population in 2005, at a cost of $2.6 billion.

Small group health insurance premiums increased an average of 84 percent between 1996 and 2002 in Colorado as well as the nation.

In 2003-04, the national uninsured rate averaged 15.7 percent. During the same time period, 17.1 percent of Coloradans (nearly 770,000 people) reported having no private or public health coverage.

Employment dynamics have a direct effect on health insurance coverage because most people obtain their health insurance through their workplace. In 2002-04, about three-fourths (441,000 people) of working-age Coloradans (age 18-64) who were uninsured reported working at some point during the previous calendar year.