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Jobs, programs are cut at two Colorado mental health centers amid Medicaid “unwind”
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State, The Colorado Sun

Jobs, programs are cut at two Colorado mental health centers amid Medicaid “unwind”

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun Two more community mental health centers are eliminating jobs and cutting programs as Colorado’s safety-net health system staggers from a massive drop in Medicaid rolls.  WellPower, which provides mental health care in Denver regardless of whether patients have insurance, is cutting six positions from its co-responder team that pairs social workers with city park rangers, fire and law officers. It’s also eliminating its virtual therapy program, which connected 579 patients with therapists online last year. And it’s ending its lease of Garfield House, an apartment complex where the mental health center has placed patients who needed housing.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24
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BizWest, State

National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24

By Lucas High | BizWest Heading into the fourth quarter of 2024, Colorado business leaders are feeling less confident about the state of the economy. The University of Colorado Leeds Business Confidence Index for the final quarter of 2024 was down nearly four points from the preceding quarter, based largely on national-level issues such as next month’s presidential election and inflation.  The index figure heading into the fourth quarter was 46.7. An LBCI score — which is based on impressions of the state economy, national economy, industry sales, industry profits, industry hiring and capital expenditures — of 50 is neutral.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
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Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts
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State, The Sum & Substance

Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance A legislatively mandated report on hospital-system facility fees that was released Tuesday appears likely to spark a new round of debate on whether the state should limit the fees that opponents call costly and unclear and that hospitals say are vital to offsite operations. The Hospital Facility Fee Report concluded that the fees, added for services in nonacute-care settings, drive up health-care costs by more than $50 million annually, are opaque and confusing and incentivize independent physicians to affiliate with larger hospital systems. However, the report also notes that a reduction in fee revenue could drastically cut the federal matching money that’s been used to expand Medicaid eligibility, and it noted several times that the task for...
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Support Amendment I: Constitutional bail exception [of] first-degree murder
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Support Amendment I: Constitutional bail exception [of] first-degree murder

By Editorial Board | Editorial, Rocky Mountain Voice Ballot language: Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning creating an exception to the right to bail for cases of murder in the first-degree when proof is evident or presumption is great? How it reached the ballot: House Continuing Resolution 24-1002, supported by a 59-5 vote of the House and 35-0 vote of the Senate. Not only did the bipartisan measure carry unanimous support in the Senate, but it also was sponsored by almost every member. The measure was opposed in the House by the most extreme, far-left Democrats. Background: The authors of the measure seek to prevent those charged with first-degree murder from being eligible for bail "if proof is evident or presumption is great." When bail is grante...
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Pro-abortion, ranked choice groups rake in big bucks for November elections
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Pro-abortion, ranked choice groups rake in big bucks for November elections

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics With five weeks to go until Election Day, the spending is ramping up for committees fighting for people's vote. And some interesting contributors have surfaced. Not surprisingly — and given the onslaught of television ads — Proposition 131, which deals with ranked choice voting, has brought in the biggest dollars. The measure would set up ranked choice voting and open primaries for Colorado elections. While both major political parties oppose the measure, it has been endorsed by Gov. Jared Polis, the League of Women Voters, and on Tuesday, by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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In Colorado case, Kroger and Albertson’s say competition is Walmart, Costco and Amazon
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State, The Colorado Sun

In Colorado case, Kroger and Albertson’s say competition is Walmart, Costco and Amazon

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun About two weeks before the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Kroger Company’s proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons Companies Inc. in late February, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed an antitrust lawsuit of its own. The state’s antitrust trial began Monday morning in Denver District Court, room 414, as attorney Arthur Biller with the AG’s Office laid out how the merger threatens to increase grocery prices, reduce competition and impact the number of grocery workers and supermarkets, especially in the more rural parts of the state. He called Kroger “a monopolist of supermarkets” because it searches for “no-comp or low-comp stores,” or stores with little to no competition. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORA...
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Support Amendment H: Judicial discipline procedures and confidentiality
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Support Amendment H: Judicial discipline procedures and confidentiality

By Editorial Board | Editorial, Rocky Mountain Voice Ballot language: Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning judicial discipline, and, in connection therewith, establishing an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board, setting standards for judicial review of a discipline case, and clarifying when discipline proceedings become public? How it reached the ballot: House Continuing Resolution 23-1001, supported by a 60-3 vote of the House and 35-0 vote of the Senate. An overwhelming bipartisan majority of both legislative chambers sponsored the measure. Three Republicans in the House opposed the measure. Background: The measure amends Section 23 of the Colorado Constitution, pertaining to judicial discipline. Under existing law, proceedings of the...
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Ute Mountain Ute Tribe joins sports betting lawsuit against Colorado
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gazette.com, State

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe joins sports betting lawsuit against Colorado

By Eric Young | The Gazette Another Colorado tribe has joined a lawsuit against the state over access to online sports gambling.  An amended complaint filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado added the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against the state by the Southern Ute Tribe. The complaint alleges that both tribes have been "unfairly" denied by the Colorado Department of Revenue from engaging in online sports betting after the passage of Proposition DD in 2019, which legalized it in the state. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Hundreds of bills are proposed each session, but these are the most accessed by the public
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kdvr.com, State

Hundreds of bills are proposed each session, but these are the most accessed by the public

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 News Colorado bills are constantly being introduced and revised in order to potentially become laws, but some are of higher interest than others. While several laws go into effect every year, many proposed bills won’t make it past being introduced. However, certain bills have captured the public’s attention. The Colorado General Assembly’s website provides a list of the state’s “most accessed bills.” READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Support Amendment G: Modification to property tax exemption for disabled veterans
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Support Amendment G: Modification to property tax exemption for disabled veterans

By Editorial Board | Editorial, Rocky Mountain Voice Ballot language: Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning the expansion of eligibility for the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to include a veteran who does not have a service-connected disability rated as a one hundred percent permanent disability but does have individual unemployability status? How it reached the ballot: House Continuing Resolution 23-1002, supported by a 62-0 vote of the House and 34-0 vote of the Senate. An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the House and Senate additionally sponsored the measure, in a General Assembly that couldn't agree on eating a ham sandwich for lunch. Background: The Colorado Constitution grants a property tax exemption to veterans with...
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