Public policy is an important arena for foundation action because it is essential to achieving meaningful, long-term change in health and health care for all Coloradans.
Through a shared health policy agenda, the Colorado Health Foundation hopes to significantly improve the effectiveness of our work in Healthy Living, Health Coverage and Health Care. Our strategy is to influence health policy by:
- Developing informed and engaged leaders
- Convening stakeholders to further a common agenda
- Strengthening advocacy organizations
- Informing the public about health policy issues
Our work in health policy serves as an important strategy to realizing success in each of our three priority areas:
- Healthy Living Policy We support public policy that requires physical education curriculum in schools; limits the sale of unhealthy foods in schools, including vending machines; and expands chronic disease self-management programs.
- Health Coverage Policy We support public policy that improves and simplifies procedures to enroll currently eligible but uninsured children and adults; enrolls all of the currently eligible but uninsured children and adults; increases the use of medical homes for children and adults; and/or removes barriers to enrollment for people who are eligible for public programs.
- Health Care Policy We support public policy that increases the use of and reimbursement for health information technology in safety-net clinics; improves delivery of services to vulnerable populations; and changes reimbursement structures to encourage integrated care and chronic care management.
Hot TopicsHealth care under the dome
Colorado legislators advanced several new measures intended to help the health system operate more efficiently, improve nutritional standards in school meals and encourage Coloradans to take charge of their own wellness during the 2010 General Assembly. 
Here’s a summary of the session’s key health care initiatives.
Promoting the Health of Colorado's Kids
In Colorado, over 60,000 kids and more than 1,500 pregnant women receive needed medical care because of Colorado's SCHIP program, the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). Thousands more Colorado kids are eligible for CHP+ but not enrolled in the plan. In February 2009, President Obama’s signed legislation reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The legislation increases federal SCHIP funding available to Colorado by 36 percent to $97.5 million in the 2009 fiscal year. The increased funding will help Colorado ensure that all children who meet the program’s eligibility requirements can be covered by the program.
Learn more about the Colorado SCHIP Coalition
Combating Childhood Obesity
While many children do not have access to healthy and fresh foods, they have easy access to soda, chips and other fast foods that are in school vending machines and cafeterias. Children choose food and beverages that are easily accessible to them in school. Unfortunately, more and more of the food and beverages that children consume are high in calories and low in nutritional value. With obesity in our children at epidemic levels, now is the time to insulate our children's learning experience from unhealthy junk food and drinks.
Colorado voters overwhelmingly support improving nutritional standards and implementing physical education requirement in Colorado schools. View 2008 poll results.
Resolving Conflicts in Colorado's Constitution
The Savings Account for Education (SAFE) was a proposal on the 2008 ballot to create a savings account for public education. This initiative would have untangled a fiscal knot in Colorado's constitution while preserving the right of citizens to vote on taxes. It was a preventive measure to curb possible future cuts in critical state services, including health care. While SAFE failed to pass, the effort to ensure adequate funding for health care and other critical services in Colorado continues to be very important.