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LATEST SUBMISSIONS

Making better use of Colorado’s health-centered charities

Wednesday, August 22 at 12:00 AM

This Speakout has not been edited.

By Rhonda Hackett

Even Michael Moore’s most vocal critics are having a difficult time arguing with the absolute and gripping impact his latest film, Sicko, a documentary spotlighting gaping problems inherent in our health care and health insurance industries. CNN found out the hard way that Moore was utterly detailed in his research and can back up each and every claim, statistical and otherwise, he’s made in the movie with solid research findings from a number of reputed government and independent agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Although CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta initially took issue with some of Moore’s stats, he later admitted Moore’s references in the movie were indeed accurate.

The state of our country’s health-care system is clearly on the minds of more than admittedly extreme left-leaning liberals who demonstrate a propensity for making controversial docudramas. Coloradans are as vocal as any when it comes to sounding the alarm over the lack of care (700,000 of our residents currently do not have any health insurance) or the dire circumstances that can arise as a result of having insufficient health insurance coverage.

Indeed, Moore made his point regarding the latter by including the poignant story of a local couple suffering the fall-out of a years-old medically related bankruptcy.

In 2006, the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding health services and analyzing health-related trends, found Colorado ranked 16th overall in terms of health performance in comparison to all other states, up from 17th the year before. Undoubtedly, being nearer the top would be ideal, however we can take some comfort in knowing, for example, that part of what makes our overall state of health as high as it is, is our relatively low prevalence of obesity (17.8% for Colorado vs. 24.4% for the nation); the fact that 83.4% of children ages 19 to 35 months receive complete immunizations; the decrease in smoking rate from 28.6% in 1990 to 19.8% currently; and a low rate of cardiovascular deaths (274 for us vs. 326 per 100,000 for the nation).

Major health care challenges facing Colorado and citied in the United Health Foundation report include the abhorrent lack of adequate prenatal care experienced by an average of nearly 30% of pregnant women in this state; the fact that 17% of our residents have no health insurance whatsoever; and the reality that we boast one of the lowest per capita public health spending records in the nation — spending just $92 per person.

The most staggering Colorado health-care statistic, albeit the least discussed, is the more than 10 billion tax-exempt dollars purportedly dedicated to improving the health of our state.* No other public charities including the arts, education, and those dedicated to the environment come close to having assets anywhere near those reported by charities listing health as their main initiative. Indeed, all of these charities combined claimed less than $7 billion in assets in 2006.

It seems reasonable to assume that the work of Colorado’s many tax-exempt organizations dedicated to improving the health of our state is at least partly responsible for our overall fair performance. Even so, with so many opportunities for improvement and with so many tax-free dollars at stake, there can be nothing lost in asking the question of whether or not these organizations are maximizing their impact.

One of the largest 501(c) 3 organizations in the state with health improvement as its core mission is The Colorado Health Foundation. Formerly known as HealthONE Alliance, it is the 50 percent nonprofit joint venture partner with the for-profit HCA hospital system, known locally as HealthONE. Per its Web site, The Colorado Health Foundation currently has total assets of nearly $900 million.** Since its 1995 inception, $40 million in grants have been distributed to the community — an investment that pales in comparison to the organization’s counterparts.

The Colorado Trust has grown from its $191 million dollars in starting assets in 1985 to a current asset base of approximately $480 million. An impressive $267.1 million dollars have been granted to other community nonprofits that are focused on our health. Nearly $20 million in grants were disbursed in 2006 alone.

Rose Community Foundation was started with $190 million in 1995 and currently reports total assets of approximately $270 million. It has distributed a remarkable $170 million to the community in 12 years.

Nearly $12 million dollars were distributed last year.

Following a major strategic overhaul that began in late 2005, the Colorado Health Foundation decided it would dedicate a significant portion of its tax-free dollars to those areas of health that we seem to be already doing pretty well on, relatively speaking. For example, a $2.7 million two-year grant to reverse the state’s obesity trend was approved by the board in 2006. As previously noted, Colorado is already doing pretty well in this area. Might that money be better dedicated to one of those areas posing a greater challenge to our overall health — prenatal care, for example? Moreover, this foundation makes particular note of wanting to increase the number of immunized 19-35 month olds up to 90%. Given we are already at 83.4% complete immunizations for this age group, it seems fair to suggest that a nearly $1 billion tax-exempt entity dedicate its massive resources to areas of more critical concern. Securing health insurance for our uninsured children comes to mind as a worthy effort. It costs about $76 million per year to run the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHP+).

President Bush is proposing a plan that will lead to half of Colorado’s 57,000 kids enrolled in CHP+ being kicked off, and the 50,000 other children currently eligible for the program but not enrolled, no longer being qualified. The Colorado Health Foundation is participating in a coalition of business and health leaders to address this issue. One can only hope they will see fit to mark their participation by dedicating their significant dollars toward effectively addressing the problem.

In all, it would appear Colorado is not as Sicko as the rest of the country in many regards. Yet, it is clear we do have a number of serious issues to immediately address if we are to improve our health and the state of our health-care system overall. Incredibly our tax-exempt coffers are brimming over with $10 billion earmarked for those very things. Let’s hope everyone entrusted with that wealth will continue to critically evaluate their impact and do everything within their power to make every dollar count when it comes to our health.

Rhonda Hackett is a resident of Lakewood. She worked for HealthONE Alliance from 1996-2000, and contracted with the organization for consulting services 2002-2004.

* National Center for Charitable Statistics: Number of Public Charities in Colorado, 2006. $9 billion for “health"; $356 million for “mental health"; $100 million for “disease, disorders, medical disciplines"; $27 million for “medical research”

** www.coloradohealth.org

READER COMMENTS

Poor dravur the lying pile of offal

Posted by on August 29, 2007 10:47 PM

quote....Even Michael Moore’s most vocal critics are having a difficult time arguing with the absolute and gripping impact his latest film, Sicko....end quote...

Hmmmm, not having a difficult time at all and neither was the Health Reporter from CNN and hundreds of other pundits on both sides of the political aisle.

If anyone actually believes that there is even a morsel of truth in Sicko probably gets paid by the .gov and knows where they get there cheese.

Sicko is so full of propganda, outright lies and hidden agendas, it makes Spinal Tap look truthful.

Just one fun example.... According to Sicko, the cuban health care system can just about cure aids, cancer and has found a way to clone Fidel..... yet another british author on a trip over there found nothing but squalor and doctors begging for his dental floss to use as sutures.

Awww, but the Sicko hospital as the carefully prepped hospital that the "Elites" use and not the ones where the common person is allowed... Funny how that is not shown.

Micheal Moore is a true propagandist on the order of Hitler's Leni Riefenstahl and Joseph Goebbels.

See? wasn't hard at all.

Posted by Dravur on August 27, 2007 04:14 PM