Behavioral health is making headlines in Colorado.

The state recently received $65 million from the federal government to help increase the  integration of physical and behavioral health. Foundations are increasingly funding organizations working to improve access to mental health services. And advocacy groups are turning up the volume about the importance of good behavioral health in maintaining the well-being of the whole person.

But what do we know about the behavioral health of Coloradans at the state and regional levels?

A new survey by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) finds that the state’s oral health safety net is struggling to meet higher patient demand with current funding sources.

The findings are examined in a new report, “Without a Net: Understanding the Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Colorado’s Oral Health Safety Net.”

The Colorado Health Institute released a study today on the public policy successes and setbacks of legalized marijuana sales in Colorado, which became the first state to legalize retail marijuana on January 1, 2014.

While predictions centered on crime waves, an epidemic of overdoses, skyrocketing drug use among kids and a tax windfall for schools, none of this has happened.

The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) conducted the research and analysis of the state’s health care landscape that provided direction for the new Colorado Health Access Fund at The Denver Foundation, which just released its first Request for Proposals.

The fund will award approximately $5 million a year between 2015 and 2022 to increase access to behavioral health care and improve health outcomes for those with high health care needs across Colorado. 

The Colorado Health Institute and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved today released the Colorado Access to Care Index, a first-ever measurement of whether Coloradans are able to get the health care they need when they need it.

The index is based on 30 data points divided into three components measuring:

Colorado does not have enough dentists to adequately care for all of the 1.1 million Medicaid clients who now have dental coverage, according to a new Colorado Health Institute study.

Two policy decisions have resulted in a historic number of Medicaid clients with dental benefits. First, Colorado expanded Medicaid eligibility to more low-income residents. Colorado also extended dental benefits to all enrollees, even the adults who were not previously covered for dental care.

The Colorado Health Institute today released findings from the first consumer experience survey of Medicaid clients participating in the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC), the state’s signature project to reform the delivery of primary health care.

State Rep. Amy Stephens has joined the Colorado Health Institute as a policy adviser.

Rep. Stephens brings a state and national perspective on ideas and trends in health policy to CHI, a nonpartisan research institute. In her advisory role, she will help CHI ensure that it is researching and analyzing health policy proposals from across the political spectrum.

Mental health and access to mental health care are among the biggest health challenges for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) Coloradans, according to a new Colorado Health Institute analysis of pioneering state data on health disparities faced by the state’s LGB community.The Colorado Health Institute analyzed results from the 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS), which for the first time asked respondents to report on their sexual orientation, yielding insights on health insurance coverage, access to health care and how health care is used by LGB Coloradans.

Colorado has achieved uneven progress during the past year as it works toward becoming a healthier state, according to a new Colorado Health Institute analysis.