15 Towns, Two Days, One Survey and All CHI’s Experts

And we're off!

Team CHI officially kicked off #2017CHAS season Monday. We're pulling out all the stops - and adding up the mileage - to unveil the results of the 2017 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS)  across the state. Check back frequently to get updates in this blog. We'll take you with us to our discussions with Coloradans about the health insurance landscape of 2017.

Wednesday, September 20

8:30 a.m. Across Colorado

Good morning from Team CHI, which is scattered far and wide across Colorado for the second day of our #2017CHAS rollout road trip. We were thrilled with the participation and discussions that occurred yesterday. Our biggest first-day takeaway? Colorado is filled with thoughtful, passionate and committed people who care about health and health care, no matter where they live. Today, find us in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Burlington, Sterling, Gunnison and Craig.Join us in person, or watch our day unfold on this blog!

7:55 a.m. Gunnison

Alex Caldwell and Adrian Nava are in gorgeous Gunnison this morning. Here's what we're hearing from Alex: "Day 2: It's a beautiful (chilly) Western Slope morning as we arrive at Western State Colorado University for our 9 a.m. presentation. We're expecting a small but mighty group today!"

8 a.m. Burlington

Emily Morian-Lozano reporting in from Burlington, where she and Edmond Toy are meeting with community members: "Burlington public health experts got up bright and early to hear about the 2017 CHAS results. They are telling us about some of the unique challenges of living in this area, especially taking into account the low population and lack of job opportunities for young adults. These experts are offering some insight into the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" in this region, which can make it appear healthier than it is. Extra thanks to Hillary Fulton of the Colorado Health Foundation for stopping by all the way out here, which is near Kansas!"

8:30 a.m. Northwest Colorado

We're hearing from Teresa Manocchio and Allie Morgan as they head to Craig: "Northwest Colorado is gorgeous! Allie and I left Steamboat and are on our way to Craig, where we will be presenting at Memorial Hospital. Hoping our coffee kicks in before then!"

8:45 a.m. Pueblo

Emily Johnson, Ashlie Brown and Rebecca Rapport are in Pueblo, where they will make a #2017CHAS presentation in the Info Zone Theater of the Rawlings Library. It starts at 9:30 a.m.

9:48 a.m. Pueblo

Rebecca Rapport, reporting from Pueblo, says the group includes representatives of the Pueblo City-County Health Department, Pueblo Triple Aim, behavioral health organizations, and engaged members of the public.

 

9:55 a.m. Pueblo

An update from Rebecca: "Ashlie is sharing her personal experience about having trouble finding an urgent care facility after accidentally cutting her hand on Sunday night. She is a great storyteller and got lots of laughs from the audience! But many were nodding along with her main point: even with insurance, it can be really challenging to get the right care at the right time."

10:40 a.m. Gunnison

Here's Alex Caldwell checking in from Gunnison: "We were a small group - but 100% of expected attendees showed up! (4 out of 4 . . .one being the county commissioner!) There was an interest in oral health, especially the Medicaid benefit. Lynn Borup, head of Tri-County Health Network, suggests we dig deeper into access to oral health care. Climbing costs to buy insurance on the individual market continue to be a big issue here. And the fact that the average income is right in that range of 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) means that people in this region are more likely to feel the hit of those high premiums. The county commissioner thinks that the small upwards tick in uninsurance in the region will just continue to climb if nothing is done about those climbing individual market costs."

11 a.m. Burlington

Emily Morian-Lozano sends this update from Burlington: "We just had a great conversation about health policy with the owner of The Main Cup in Burlington - and a delicious cup of coffee!"

11:30 a.m. Grand Junction

Jeff Bontrager continues his work in Grand Junction, where he is preparing for his role as keynote speaker at the Healthcare Financial Management Association Colorado Chapter's Fall Rural Conference. He stopped to grab this lovely photo of Grand Junction along the way.

11:35 a.m. On the way to Colorado Springs

On the other hand, the Eastern Plains hold a different sort of beauty. Here it is from Brian Clark, who is driving from Burlington to Colorado Springs, where our CEO, Michele Lueck, is set to appear this afternoon.

11:40 a.m. Sterling

Sara Schmitt, Karam Ahmad and Chrissy Esposito are in the house at the Sterling Public Library.

12 p.m. Sterling

Karam Ahmad is reporting a good group has assembled to hear from Sara Schmitt. He said people have come from Yuma, there's a regional health connector, the local newspaper editor and several people from rural community resource centers.

 

12:15 p.m. Limon

Team CHI has been obsessed with PowerPoints over the past couple weeks, as you might imagine. We worked hard to create #2017CHAS presentations that were clear, accurate and engaging in the run-up to our road trip. So it seemed only fitting that when Brian Clark stopped at a truck stop near Lamar, he found this koozie. He bought it to bring back to the office.

12:30 p.m. Sterling

The news for the region of northeast Colorado that includes Sterling isn't as good as it is for other regions of the state. The uninsured rate has nearly doubled to 10.7 percent in 2017 from 5.6 percent in 2015.

1:15 p.m. Colorado Springs

The team from Pueblo has arrived in Colorado Springs for the last event of the #2017CHAS statewide rollout. Emily Johnson, Ashlie Brown and Rebecca Rapport will be supporting our CEO, Michele Lueck, who will be presenting at the stunning Carnegie Reading Room in the Penrose Library. We are excited that the Colorado Springs Health Foundation is sponsoring this gathering. Thanks, Cari Davis!

 

1:53 p.m. Colorado Springs                                                                                   

Luckily, Michele brought along her husband, Bill. Rebecca reports Team CHI is setting up more chairs. "We're expecting a packed house!"

 

 

2:58 p.m. Grand Junction

Jeff Bontrager has just wound up his sojourn to the Western Slope with the conclusion of his presentation. Here he is with his traditional selfie with his audience!

3:07 p.m. Colorado Springs

And it's a wrap! As Michele finishes her presentation in Colorado Springs, the #2017CHAS statewide Colorado roll-out-palooza is done. We have traveled thousands of miles, met with more than 600 Coloradans, answered dozens of questions, and run out of copies of our CHAS publication. More importantly, we have heard from residents across our state about the issues that go beyond the numbers. We are grateful. Thank you to everyone. And here's to the healthiest Colorado possible!

 

Tuesday, September 19

8 a.m. Denver

CEO Michele Lueck kicks off the presentation at History Colorado in downtown Denver. "Health policy is what gets us up in the morning at CHI," she says. And the big reveal: Colorado's 2017 uninsured rate is 6.5 percent. That matches the uninsured rate from 2015 and means Colorado is holding onto its historic health insurance gains post-ACA.

8:30 a.m. Denver

Chris Klene of the Center for Health Progress wins the #2017CHAS contest, guessing the uninsured rate of 6.5 percent. He wins an ipad. And he joins colleague Sarah McAfee who guessed the rate correctly in 2015. They're on a roll!

9:45 a.m. Breckenridge

You're never too young to learn about health policy. Our youngest #2017CHAS attendee so far? It's definitely Tate.

 

9:50 a.m. Breckenridge

CHI analysts Allie Morgan and Teresa Manocchio drew the short straw, heading up to Breckenridge on a beautiful September day just as the Aspens are turning. They met with an engaged group of Summit County residents in the lovely South Branch Library.

 

10:17 a.m. Grand Junction

State Rep. Dan Thurlow attended our event in Grand Junction. Jeff Bontrager, CHI's director of research on coverage and access, and also the principal investigator for the CHAS, made the presentation. Erin Holmes, who joined CHI only to find herself immediately organizing 20 CHAS events across the state, joined him. Jeff, besides being a researcher extraordinaire is also a most excellent tie designer. He wore his signature design with a Colorado theme for his presentation.

11 a.m. Denver

Sara Schmitt, Karam Ahmad and Chrissy Esposito leave CHI headquarters for the drive to Fort Collins, where they will be presenting - fittingly for Fort Collins - in a brewpub.

11:40 a.m. Alamosa

Our CHI team arrived in the San Luis Valley last night, and spent the time preparing for today's presentation. The uninsured rate in the San Luis Valley is 6.2 percent, a bit below the state average.

12:15 p.m. Durango

How can 14 people sound like 40? When they are Durango-area health experts and community leaders with a lot to say about health access in this expensive corner of Colorado.

CHI’s Joe Hanel and Ian Pelto presented CHAS data to the group in the morning. Everyone stayed the full 90 minutes we allotted for the presentation, and a few stayed even longer. When Ian shared the CHAS finding that 67,000 Coloradans did not get needed substance use treatment, a whispered “wow” was heard from the audience.

A lot of questions and recommendations involved more study of job-based insurance — which is, after all, the way half of Coloradans are insured.

The lively discussion left Joe no time to say hi to old friends at the Durango Herald. The team’s next stop is Cortez, just on the other side of Mesa Verde.

12:45 p.m. Alamosa

In this San Luis Valley town, information from a new CHAS question about how long it takes to see a doctor sparked special interest, reports Rebecca Rapport, program manager for the SIM Extension Service. Here's what she writes: "Our participants in Alamosa are very interested in wait times to see a primary care doctor or specialist. They credit the high number of providers who take Medicaid with the relatively short wait times for primary care. Alternatively, they believe specialty care wait times may be inaccurate. The San Luis Valley has a really limited number of specialty care providers. Most people look outside of the region for specialists, traveling far distances to Pueblo, Colorado Springs or Durango for care."

1:05 p.m. Nederland

Many of you know that CHI's communications team is made up of a number of former Rocky Mountain News journalists. So it's a good bet when Brian Clark, our amazing graphics designer, went out on the road to shoot pictures of the CHAS launch, he would stop to take a picture of a Rocky box alongside a road near Nederland. Brian, by the way, is responsible for making our CHAS chart pack better each and every year. 

1:27 p.m. Lamar

CHI health economist Edmond Toy and analyst Emily Morian-Lozano are completely across the state, on the Eastern Plains. This is what Emily reported from the Lamar presentation: "Our group is very engaged and is giving us a lot of insight into why people in this very rural area of the state have so many issues accessing health care and health insurance. We have had some great conversations throughout the whole presentation. Extra thanks to state Rep. Kimmi Clark Lewis, who drove 100 miles to be here and is actively participating in the conversation."

1:43 p.m. Alamosa

CHI analyst Emily Johnson and Ashlie Brown, director of the SIM Extension Service, gave a presentation to members of the Alamosa community. Then, minutes later, they rushed to unveil the #2017CHAS results to the board of directors of The Colorado Trust, which has been the primary funder of the CHAS since its launch in 2009. Luckily for Emily and Ashlie, the board was not only meeting in the same town on the same day as their presentation. They were meeting in the same building on the Adams State College campus. Rebecca Rapport, program manager at the SIM Extension Service, reports that Trust board members burst into applause at the good news that Colorado is maintaining its historic health insurance rates.

2:50 p.m. Cortez

Joe Hanel and Ian Pelto made it from Durango to Cortez in time for their afternoon presentation. Here's what Joe sends along: "We spoke with about 10 people at the Cortez Public Library, including the county public health director, a couple of enrollment guides, two hospital workers and one person who came all the way over Lizard Head Pass from San Miguel County. The CHAS substance use data continue to spark a lot of discussion. We're hearing that data on the subject is hard for local experts to obtain. At at the same time, we're hearing frustration that the CHAS can't provide an even more comprehensive look at the problem. We at CHI know we have only just begun to address the issue, and we have a lot more work to do. But it's a perfect late summer day here in Cortez, and we have views of Mesa Verde towering over a plain of sage and juniper to keep us company on the way back to the airport."

3:06 p.m. Steamboat Springs

Allie Morgan and Teresa Manocchio are greeting guests at Olympian Hall in the Howelsen Hill Lodge. This is a beautiful area of the state, but the news isn't great when it comes to health insurance. This region continues to have the state's highest uninsured rate. In 2017, it is 13.1 percent, double the state average of 6.5 percent.Before arriving at the venue, Allie and Teresa stopped for lunch at McDonalds. This is not the "new normal" for CHI! We have healthy snacks in our kitchen. Really.

3:30 p.m. Alamosa

One of the best things about the CHAS launch is discovering great new places in our beautiful state. Emily Johnson, Ashlie Brown and Rebecca Rapport  tell us that the Milagros Coffee Shop on Main Street in Alamosa is worth the trip just for its lattes.

3:46 p.m. Fort Collins

There's a big crowd at DC Oakes Brewhouse and Eatery in Fort Collins, including state senators Joann Ginal and John Kefalas. CHI board member Bruce Cooper, a physician and the medical director of the Health District of Northern Larimer County, is also on hand with a number of his colleagues.

4:10 p.m. Fort Collins

We've just finished the Fort Collins presentation. What a crowd. We had more than 50 people come by to learn about health coverage in Larimer County. We met an entire class of nursing students from the University of Northern Colorado, a firefighter from Weld County, and students from the Colorado School of Public Health. Chrissy Esposito reports: "There was lots of interest in knowing how we captured data on poor mental health and wait times for health care. Hundreds of meatballs have been consumed. A lot of people are lingering and getting drinks." Chrissy, by the way, is our interactive graphics specialist. She created the interactive dashboard for the 2017 CHAS, a first. Check it out on our website. It's a great addition to our suite of CHAS products. 

5:30 p.m. Steamboat Springs

The meeting in Steamboat Springs was very productive, Allie tells us. "Our Steamboat presentation went great. We had a smart, engaged group of 10 who gave us tons of local insights. It was especially neat to be in Olympian Hall at the base of historic Howelsen Hill." Afterward, she and Teresa stopped at the rodeo stands for a few photos.

 

 

Monday, September 18

10 a.m.:

We began the day with a media briefing led by Joe Hanel here at our offices a couple of blocks from the state capitol. Joe then conducted a webinar for another 17 reporters.

A couple of hours later, analysts began heading out the door to begin traveling to the towns where they will make presentations tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll be notching up 15 presentations in all. We're expecting more than 600 people. That's a tall order for a small staff. 

The big news will be Colorado's 2017 health insurance rate. Do more Coloradans have health insurance today than in 2015, when Colorado set new records? Or has the number fallen off?

Check this blog tomorrow, when I'll be updating reports from our analysts. And view our website for a livestream of CEO Michele Lueck making the big reveal at 8 a.m. before a crowd gathered at History Colorado in downtown Denver.