Health Coverage Policy

The Colorado Health Foundation’s commitment to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation includes efforts to improve Health Coverage by influencing health policy. We support public policy that improves and simplifies procedures to enroll currently eligible but uninsured children and adults; enrolls all currently eligible but uninsured children and adults; increases the use of medical homes for children and adults; and removes barriers to enrollment for people who are eligible for public programs. This work includes:

• Developing informed and engaged leaders
• Convening stakeholders to further a common agenda
• Strengthening advocacy organizations
• Informing the public about health policy issues

Initiatives
Working with our partners, we supported several key pieces of legislation in 2007 to improve Health Coverage for all Coloradans. Our grantee partners include the Colorado SCHIP Coalition and the Colorado Center on Law & Policy.

The Colorado SCHIP Coalition
Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) is Colorado’s version of the federally funded State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Because of CHP+, nearly 50,000 children and more than 1,300 pregnant women receive needed medical care that they could not otherwise afford.

Thousands more children in Colorado are eligible for but not enrolled in CHP+. Continued federal funding is needed to reach out to the families of those children. In February 2009, President Obama signed SCHIP reauthorization legislation into law.

In 2007, we convened the Colorado SCHIP Coalition, made up of health care providers, advocates, foundations, faith organizations, unions and the business community. The coalition’s goals are to:

• Provide funding to cover all children who are currently enrolled in CHP+, as well as to reach out to those eligible for but not enrolled in CHP+
• Seek funding sources that do not endanger other health programs, such as Medicaid
• Eliminate barriers that prevent eligible children from enrolling and staying enrolled
• Promote coverage that facilitates the healthy development of children.

We granted $250,000 to launch a coordinated media and advocacy campaign to support the reauthorization of SCHIP.

Colorado Center on Law & Policy
For almost a decade, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy (CCLP) has been advocating for justice, economic security and access to health care for all Coloradans, particularly the poor, working poor and other vulnerable populations. It is currently the only organization in Colorado providing the advocacy that used to be offered by federally funded legal services programs.

In 2007, we granted $675,000 for the ongoing health care advocacy program of CCLP. The aim of the program is to increase access to high-quality and affordable health care, which CCLP hopes to achieve by representing and advancing the interests of lower-income Coloradans.

Learn more about our policy work