healthcare

Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers want to cap state insurance payments to hospitals, but providers say they're already operating in the red.

West Springs Hospital announced on Monday it’s closing its doors on March 10, 2025 after years of financial trouble. The closure also cut ties between Mind Springs and Larkin Health, which has been managing the nonprofit since November.

Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez is holding its own financially, but to keep it viable over the long term, people need to use it for as many services as possible. That was one message officials gave Thursday during a talk about the annual report for the private not-for-profit that operates the hospital, Southwest Health System.

In Four Corners tribal communities like the Navajo Nation, scammers working for predatory treatment homes are targeting Indigenous people, taking them to pop-up rehabs in Arizona. Victims advocates like Reva Stewart are trying to raise awareness about this issue by holding a walk in downtown Phoenix on Friday, May 5.The rehabs, which are supposed to be regulated by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or “Access,” (AHCCCS) target vulnerable individuals in tribal communities, like those who are struggling with substance and alcohol abuse, or who are unsheltered.

Colorado abortion clinics in rural areas like Cortez and the Four Corners region are facing difficult challenges in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Kaiser Permanente and other healthcare providers are expanding abortion services in Colorado. And in Cortez, The Good Samaritan Food Center helps combat hunger in the Four Corners region.

Colorado is launching a new financial aid program to help students who want to become health care workers. And the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona announced it will abandon a multi-state deal on the Colorado River to keep its biggest reservoir from declining.

Certain diagnostic tests, screenings and treatments where the risk of harm or cost exceeds the likely benefit for patients - known as low-value health-care services - resulted in $134 million in excess spending in Colorado in 2020.

Colorado’s top water agency is pausing investigations into “demand management,” a program that would pay people to use less water and send it to Lake Powell for storage. And the Colorado Senate has approved a bill that would force hospitals to allow visitors during future public health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic.

If you're not someone who gets health benefits from your employer, now's the time to make sure your insurance is in order for next year. That's because it's currently the open enrollment period to sign up for a health plan. In Colorado, the deadline is December 15 to get coverage that starts on the first of the year. On this week's Health and Prevention Report, Lucas Brady Woods speaks with healthcare provider Axis Health Systems to break down the insurance market and why it's important to be covered.