03/21/12

Project Health Colorado Launches New Forum for Coloradans

Effort aimed at giving Coloradans information and a voice on health care

Denver, CO – A new public campaign launched today to help inform and engage Coloradans about important health coverage and care issues in our state. The campaign, Project Health Colorado, represents a growing group of organizations and individuals working to improve health care by giving Coloradans a place to ask questions, get answers, share solutions and support health care that works for everyone.

Project Health Colorado builds on the work of grantee partners (see list at the bottom of page two) to foster awareness, understanding and, ultimately, support for the kind of changes that will help achieve access to health for all Coloradans.

"While some Coloradans have health coverage and the ability to receive quality health care, it costs too much or simply isn't accessible for many families and individuals," said Ned Calonge, MD, President and CEO of The Colorado Trust, an independent grantmaking foundation that supports the campaign. "Making health care work better for everyone in our state requires that Coloradans have access to good information and are able to both speak up about health care challenges and propose solutions."

With the launch of Project Health Colorado, television, radio, newspaper, digital and billboard advertisements will begin running across the state tomorrow, March 22nd, posing questions like, "Is health care in Colorado working?" and "Can you afford the health care you and your family need?" These ads encourage Coloradans to go to ProjectHealthColorado.org, which offers a shared forum for Coloradans to weigh in on questions, share their opinions and join a live discussion about health care issues. Grassroots outreach and social media will also help engage Coloradans to ask questions and suggest solutions for how to make health care work better for them and others.

The ProjectHealthColorado.org website also features commentaries and answers from an array of experts, providing information, answering questions and showing that Coloradans are being heard when it comes to health care. As this new website launches, the initial group of experts addressing questions and providing information includes Colorado Commissioner of Insurance Jim Riesberg, Phil Kalin from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC), and Gretchen Hammer, Executive Director of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.

Visitors to the site also have added their thoughts on how to make health care better. For example, Jane in Grand Junction said, "We need to make sure everyone gets health insurance because if someone's not covered, we're all paying for it. They end up in the emergency room and then the hospital – without an insurance company to bill – doesn't get paid. That ends up making health care more costly for everyone. Everyone has to have car insurance, so why not health insurance?"

"Ultimately, we want all Coloradans to be able to get the care they need to stay healthy," added Dr. Calonge. "Our goal is to help give Coloradans a say when it comes to making health care work."

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Project Health Colorado is a growing group of individuals and organizations working to make health care better by providing a place to ask questions, get answers, share solutions and show support for health care that works for every Coloradan. It's your care. It's your coverage. Have a say in it.

Project Health Colorado is funded by The Colorado Trust, a grantmaking foundation dedicated to achieving access to health for all Coloradans. The initial partners of Project Health Colorado include Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation, Club 20 Education & Research Foundation, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, Colorado Children's Campaign, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, Colorado HealthStory, Tu Salud, Health District of Northern Larimer County, Metro Organizations for People, 9Health Fair, Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership, Colorado Medical Society, San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center, Stapleton Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities and 2040 Partners for Health. Additional support for grantees is provided by the Colorado Health Foundation, whose vision is to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation.