CHI Kicks Off Legislative Activities with Lawmaker Breakfast

Tamara Keeney

January 21, 2015

The Colorado Health Institute kicked off our legislative services for the 2015 session on Wednesday morning with a meet and greet breakfast at the Capitol. CHI’s experts met with legislators to discuss the latest information on the data and analysis we provide and how we can support their policy work.

This year, our legislative activities include four educational events to help lawmakers develop a deeper understanding of issues surrounding health care policy. Among the topics covered will be the 2015 Colorado Health Report Card – a collaboration with the Colorado Health Foundation.

Last week, Senior Communications Expert Joe Hanel blogged about Governor Hickenlooper’s state of the state speech. Topics covered include public health, health care costs and marijuana. Read that here.

Keep an eye on our blog during this session for weekly updates from the Capitol from Joe and Policy Analyst Allie Morgan. You can also follow them on Twitter for more frequent updates: @CHI_AllieM (Allie) and @CHI_JoeHanel (Joe).

Also from last week, Policy Analyst Natalie Triedman and Director of Research on Coverage and Access Jeff Bontrager presented at the Healthcare Financial Management Association Colorado Chapter’s annual uninsured conference.  They shared the latest data on the Affordable Care Act’s impact on Colorado and predictions for what is ahead for 2015. You can find that presentation here.

On Thursday, we will convene the first Safety Net Advisory Committee (SNAC) Learning Lab of 2015.

This meeting will focus on Colorado’s Medicaid Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC). The theme is “Expand, Explore, Evaluate: Understanding the ACC’s Big Initiatives.” The discussion is an opportunity for safety net providers, consumer advocates, funders, researchers and policymakers to connect the dots between ACC projects that are underway and share how these initiatives affect their work. More information about SNAC Lab discussions, as well as summaries from past meetings, are available here.