March 12, 2023
Our next meeting is Monday, March 13, 2023. Our meeting is from 9:30AM to 11:00AM, but may go to 11:30AM.
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We will have speakers on HB23-1228 Nursing Facility Reimbursement Rate Setting bill attending this meeting | |
Starting at 9:30AM we will have two speakers talking about HB23-1228 Nursing Facility Reimbursement Rate Setting. Doug Farmer represents the skilled nursing industry and Colin Laughlin is with the state of Colorado's long-term care services. After the presentations, we will open up the meeting for questions. And after the presentations and Q&A we will take a vote on HB23-1228. | |
Doug Farmer, President and CEO of Colorado Health Care Association (CHCA)
Email - dfarmer@cohca.org
Website - https://www.cohca.org/
Doug Farmer is President and CEO of the Colorado Health Care Association (CHCA). The Association represents the nursing home and assisted living professions through education and advocacy. Prior to his time at CHCA, Doug served in numerous roles in Kansas state government. He began his career as an analyst in the Governor’s budget office and moved on to serve as Assistant Secretary on Aging; Deputy Secretary of Health and Environment, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of Kansas, and Deputy Director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority. After leaving state government, Doug served as the Vice President for Policy with the Sunflower Foundation where he worked on public policy matters related to health care, and trained nonprofit executives in public policy advocacy. Doug earned a Master of Public Administration from James Madison University and a BA in Political Science from the University of California at Davis.
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Colin Laughlin, MPA-Deputy Office Director, Office of Community Living
Email - Colin.Laughlin@state.co.us
Website - https://hcpf.colorado.gov/office-community-living
Skilled policy creator and program administrator with many years overseeing complex policy and regulations for programs and benefits that serve individuals receiving Colorado's Long-Term Services and Supports. This includes policy, legislative, and regulatory oversight of Home and Community-Based Services, Nursing Facilities, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Intermediate Care Facilities, Regional Centers, and more.
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There are bills to review & take positions on | |
Jeanette Hensley and Rich Mauro will lead us in reviewing bills that have been added to our CCA Bill Tracker. We will also take positions on bills that were reviewed at last week's meeting and we will be looking for at least one member to step forward for each bill we are keeping on our list.
View our meeting agenda to see a list that prioritizes bills for discussion
at the Monday morning meeting - CLICK HERE
Our approach is to review the bills one week and then the following week our members vote on whether to monitor, support, strongly support, or oppose but as we enter the last half of the session, bills move more quickly; so we may consider and take a position on a bill at the same meeting. If we keep a bill in our Bill watch account, we need a member to step up as a point of contact.
We ask that those who have volunteered to track a specific bill
be prepared to report to the group on its status.
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For those that attended the March 7th ACC 3.0 Presentation - Colorado's Aging Population Presentation from Joint House Health and Human Services we would like you to share what you learned from the presentation. | |
News from CCA Capitol Gang | |
This week we sent out Action Alerts, emails to legislators, or individuals
testified on these bills:
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SB23-144 Prescription Drugs For Chronic Pain - Strongly Support - CCA sent an email to all Senators expressing our support and the importance of this bill. Our CCA advocates for outreach are Christina Johnson and Jeanette Hensley.
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SB23-063 Assisted Living Residences Referrals - Strongly Oppose - This bill was heard 3-2-23 in Senate Committee on Health & Human Services and was Postpone Indefinitely. CCA sent an email to all Senator on the committee expressing our Strong Opposition to the bill. Our CCA advocates for outreach are Karin Hall, Suze Kanack, and Ed Shackelford.
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Questions about CCA Advocacy Committee
Jeanette Hensley - email - 303-249-5598
Co-Chair of CCA Advocacy Committee
Rich Mauro - email - Direct: 303-480-6778
Co-Chair of CCA Advocacy Committee and Senior Policy and Legislative Analyst Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)
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Zoom Link for Monday's Meeting | |
Topic: CCA: Advocacy Committee Meeting
9:30AM - 11:00AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8814815119?pwd=cXJGUFRVQ09kV1RzZ25QVG90RHBOQT09
Meeting ID: 881 481 5119
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Meeting ID: 881 481 5119
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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbZvU5bskJ
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News & Highlights from CCA | |
March 15, 2023 - Wednesday, 7:30AM - 10:00AM
Health Cabinet Affordability Summit
Please register to join Lt. Governor Primavera, Health Cabinet executive directors and industry leaders for the Health Cabinet Affordability Summit hosted by the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
This FREE virtual event on health care affordability for Coloradans is designed for policy makers, advocates, payers, care providers, health care leaders and other industry stakeholders. The agenda will cover hospital and prescription drug affordability, rural hospital opportunities, value based payments and partnering to Keep Coloradans Covered after the end of the public health emergency. Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and language services for individuals whose first language is not English may be provided upon request. Please notify Kelly O'Brien at 303-868-4983 or kelly.obrien@state.co.us or the Civil Rights Officer at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.
Register Today
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3GmlXaPWSQKg5lXdH4ht9w
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Colorado Commission on Aging Meetings
The Public is welcome to attend
The Colorado Commission on Aging (CCOA) was established under the authority of the Older Coloradans Act Section 26-11-101, C.R.S. to serve as the primary advisory body on all matters affecting older persons. The CCOA is a Governor-appointed, citizen-led, multidisciplinary Commission, comprised of representatives from both the public and private sectors to coordinate and contribute to guiding state programs, services, projects, policies, procedures, and resources in the area of aging and coordinate and guide the implementation of the strategic action plan on aging (Master Plan on Aging). The CCA members interested in aging issues in Colorado are encouraged to attend the committee meetings. All meetings are virtual until further notice. The meetings are:
- CCOA committee meets monthly every 3rd Thursday of the month
- CCOA Executive Subcommittee meets first Tuesday of the month
- CCOA Age-Friendly Subcommittee meets 4th Friday of the month
- CCOA Public Policy Subcommittee 2nd Monday of the month
Find times and Zoom link for the meetings on the CCOA web page -
https://cdhs.colorado.gov/our-services/older-adult-services/state-unit-on-aging/colorado-commission-on-aging
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Are you a caregiver for a person with dementia who is receiving home care?
If you are a caregiver living approximately 2 or more hours away from your care recipient, you may be eligible to participate in a new research study evaluating the administration of a non-drug intervention designed to help long-distance caregivers of persons with dementia. To learn more, contact the Project Director, Evan Chunga, at
Richard.Chunga001@umb.edu or contact the Principal Investigator, Dr.
Verena Cimarolli at vcimarolli@leadingage.org or 202-508-9411.
View Flyer - CLICK HERE
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Have you experienced age discrimination when applying for a job?
If you have, and are open to sharing your experiences, the Older Worker Policy Collaborative would love to hear from you! By sharing your story, you'll be helping to support policy change to make Colorado's workplaces fairer for people of all ages. If you're interested in either learning more or speaking with someone, you can sign-up here, and we'll be in touch. Please know that your name, experience, and any identifying information will never be shared without your explicit consent.
Share your story - CLICK HERE
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SNAP benefits in Colorado are changing this month.
Here’s how to get more food assistance
"The federal government has ended a pandemic-era expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP. That means the half-million Coloradans who use the program will see smaller benefit checks starting in March. Recipients can expect their monthly allotments to drop by about $90 per person in their household. Larger families could see reductions of $300 or more ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.cpr.org
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More than 80% of local governments have opted out of
Colorado’s new paid family, medical leave
"So far, more than 1,250 local governments have opted out of the contentious Colorado program requiring employers to provide paid family and medical leave. That number stands to grow as the new March 31 deadline to opt out approaches ..." - READ MORE
Source https://coloradosun.com
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Claims Denials and Appeals in ACA Marketplace Plans in 2021
"In this brief, we analyze transparency data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on claims denials and appeals for non-group qualified health plans (QHPs) offered on HealthCare.gov. Data were reported by insurers for the 2021 plan year and posted in a public use file in October 2022 ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.kff.org/
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Colorado could allow rent control. What does history say might happen next?
"A proposed new law in Colorado would allow cities and towns to set limits on rent prices. Supporters say the change would protect renters from the rapid hikes in housing costs that have marked the last decade. Critics argue that rent regulation, also known as rent control and rent stabilization, could cause unwanted disruptions to the already messy housing market. To make their arguments, both sides are drawing on research from a century of rent regulation policies in the U.S. and trying to predict how it might play out in Colorado’s cities ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.cpr.org
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Colorado landlords say eviction-protection proposal
could make dropping problem renters too hard
"At the intersection of Colorado lawmakers’ debate over renters’ rights are landlords like Page Pulver and tenants like Trudy Carra-deSalero. Pulver owns the Coffman House in downtown Longmont, a 46-unit rooming house she purchased in 2017. She’s poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the property, which was built in 1902 by Charles Dickens’ grandson and served as a hospital in the ’30s ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.lamarledger.com
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Colorado lawmakers consider reforms to how family courts
handle abuse allegations
"Colorado lawmakers are considering two bills that would reform the way family courts in the state handle cases involving allegations of domestic abuse, saying ProPublica’s reporting on the issue has catalyzed efforts to change the state’s custody evaluation system ..." - READ MORE
Source https://coloradosun.com
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Hospital Charity Care: How It Works and Why It Matters
"About four in ten adults (41%) in the United States—and about six in ten (57%) of those with household incomes below $40,000—have some level of medical debt, owing an estimated $195 billion or more in total. Many adults who report medical debt cite costs associated with emergency care (50%) and hospitalizations (35%) as sources of unpaid bills ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.kff.org
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WeCareAdvisor Announcement
"Researchers at Drexel University and University of California are seeking family caregivers of people living with dementia for a nationwide study. The WeCareAdvisor is a tool to help family caregivers manage dementia-related behaviors. By walking caregivers through a step-by-step approach to understand why behaviors may be occurring, the WeCareAdvisor provides tailored strategies to help manage them. For more information, email WeCare@drexel.edu or visit http://wecareadvisorstudy.com.
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March is Women’s History Month
"This year the Denver Public Library highlighting the power of storytelling in understanding ourselves, our own history, and the history of women in our community. Through events and programs, we are providing you with the tools and inspiration to tell history that is not taught in school or described in textbooks, but that is based on your lived experience ..." - READ MORE
Source https://www.denverlibrary.org
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New Library Services Available through Strong Library
Thanks to Denver voters, Freegal Music+, an ad-free, unlimited streaming platform, and Statista, an easy-to-use portal for integrating statistics and reports, are available to anybody with a DPL library card. These new services are made possible because of #StrongLibraryStrongDenver, supported by the DPL Fund. Learn more here:
https://www.denverlibrary.org/stronglibrary_strongdenver
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CU Anschutz COAST-IT Program
Are you an older adult that would like to build a social connection with a CU Anschutz health professional student? The Multidisciplinary Center on Aging at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is actively reaching out to more older adults in the community for the COAST-IT (Connecting Older Adults and Students Through Inter-professional Telecare) program. Older adults will have the opportunity to engage with a student from either the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, or School of Dental Medicine programs to mentor the future generation of healthcare clinicians.
Contact Joanna Fitzgibbons at joanna.fitzgibbons@cuanschutz.edu for more information
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March 13, 2023 - Monday, 9:30AM - 11:00AM
CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting via Zoom
There will be a CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting on Monday, March 13, 2023 from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. Newcomers and visitors are welcome - LEARN MORE
Website https://coloradocenterforaging.org/
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March 20, 2023 - Monday, 9:30AM - 11:00AM
CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting via Zoom
There will be a CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting on Monday, March 20, 2023 from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. Newcomers and visitors are welcome - LEARN MORE
Website https://coloradocenterforaging.org/
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March 24, 2023 - Friday - 1:00PM - 2:00PM
HOA Forum: Metro/Special Districts And How They Interact With Your Community
The HOA Information & Resource Office will hold a webinar on the sometimes complex relationships between metro/special districts and your communities. Metro/special districts are different than Common Interest Communities, but many unit owners are subject to both. Join Nick Altmann, the HOA Information Officer, for a discussion on the relationship between these organizations on Friday, March 24, 2023 at 1:00 PM (MT).
This is an online webinar only. On behalf of the HOA Information & Resource Center, we look forward to you joining us. All are welcome to attend.
Register for the Event - CLICK HERE
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March 27, 2023 - Monday, 9:30AM - 11:00AM
CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting via Zoom
There will be a CCA Advocacy Committee Meeting on Monday, March 27, 2023 from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. Newcomers and visitors are welcome - LEARN MORE
Website https://coloradocenterforaging.org/
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March 28, 2023 - Tuesday - 9:30AM - 10:45AM
Aging Demographics in the DRCOG Region - Results of the Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults (CASOA) Webinar
Plan to attend our webinar on March 28th that explores a statistically valid survey of the strengths and weaknesses of older adults themselves to enable stakeholders to shape policy, educate the public and assist communities and organizations in their efforts to support and sustain older adult populations. No need to pre-register. To access the webinar, click on the Zoom link.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84368309718?pwd=TGtPcEVDTGg0Wm1HYVprWEdhSG5adz09
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Looking to Sharpen your tech Skills?
Cyber-Seniors provides FREE technology support and training for senior citizens
Founded in 2015 by the creators of the award-winning documentary film CYBER-SENIORS, this non-profit organization provides senior citizens with tech-training using an intergenerational, volunteer model.
Website https://cyberseniors.org/
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Live Online Classes for Seniors from Senior Planet
If you’re a senior aged 60 and older, these live online classes are designed just for you! Learn about finance, wellness, fitness, computers and technology, and so much more. You will also find a real community of fellow life-long learners.
Website https://seniorplanet.org/classes/
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CCA Advocacy Committee Meetings 2023 | |
The first CCA Advocacy Committee will be meeting every Monday while the legislature is in session. Note that we may not have meetings on certain Federal and State holidays. | |
If you are not a member of Colorado Center for Aging - Join Today! | |
Colorado Center for Aging is a 501c3 non-profit organization,
born out of the roots of Colorado Senior Lobby (CSL) - LEARN MORE
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