Gov. Bill Ritter may be forced to cut another $189 million from Colorado’s budget because of a sluggish economic recovery and lower-than-expected revenues. State budget officials compared the recovery to having a hangover – they say the economy is a little bit slower, a little less energetic than expected. In June, Ritter was forced to [...]
Continue reading …State auditors say Colorado needs to overhaul the way it funds unemployment benefits if it wants to avoid repeated shortfalls. Lawmakers held a hearing on the audit yesterday. The Colorado Unemployment Insurance Trust has borrowed $188 million from the federal government after becoming insolvent in January. The state Labor and Unemployment Department says it could [...]
Continue reading …A new health insurance plan to cover people with pre-existing conditions is now available in Colorado.
The plan began accepting customers today. Gov. Bill Ritter says providing insurance for people who’ve suffered from diseases could reduce the cost of health care.
The plan is a result of health care reform passed by Congress this year and will be phased out in 2014 when the core parts of that legislation takes effect.
Colorado is one of 29 states that will administer their own plans. The federal government will run the program in the remaining 21 states.
Continue reading …The Colorado Springs jobless rate rose to 8.6 percent last month from 8.5 percent the previous month, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported today. And, while unemployment claims rose by 100, it was mostly the result of 3,700 people vacated the job market by stopping their search for a job. Payrolls last month [...]
Continue reading …Colorado’s workers are paying a higher share of health insurance premiums than their counterparts in the rest of the nation. The Colorado Division of Insurance released its annual report this week, and reported that while premiums in Colorado mirror increases nationwide, employees shoulder more of the payment than the national average. More Coloradans were also [...]
Continue reading …Colorado worker’s compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance is issuing its sixth consecutive general dividend. This year, $47.5 million will be distributed to more than 52,000 qualifying businesses — roughly 86 percent of policyholders — throughout the state. With the 2010 declaration, Pinnacol has now returned nearly $400 million in general dividends to Colorado businesses. The average [...]
Continue reading …Colorado lawmakers rejected a proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries as they seek ways to regulate the booming industry. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee killed a proposal Monday from Republican Sen. Scott Renfroe that would have asked voters to ban dispensaries and allow only individuals to provide medical marijuana to patients. The decision came [...]
Continue reading …Colorado lawmakers are hoping to avoid the chaos that erupted in 2001 when the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-dominated Senate failed to agree on Colorado’s new congressional district. In 2002, a Denver District Court judge drew his own congressional map, saying lawmakers failed to do their jobs. In 2003, Republicans changed the law, telling courts how [...]
Continue reading …Alpharma will pay Colorado more than $79,000 as its part of a multi-state settlement against the pharmaceutical company for fraudulent Medicaid claims. The total settlement equals $19.2 million for states involved in the suit and the federal government. The allegations are that the company submitted false claims for the drug Kadian, a painkiller intended for [...]
Continue reading …Arizona and Indiana have signed on to use the Colorado Growth Model for monitoring student achievement. Colorado Department of Education officials said the states signed formal agreements to use the online data tool that measures individual student and group progress from year to year. The goal of the program is to implement a single system [...]
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