The Colorado Health Institute released a study today on the public policy successes and setbacks of legalized marijuana sales in Colorado, which became the first state to legalize retail marijuana on January 1, 2014.

While predictions centered on crime waves, an epidemic of overdoses, skyrocketing drug use among kids and a tax windfall for schools, none of this has happened.

The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) conducted the research and analysis of the state’s health care landscape that provided direction for the new Colorado Health Access Fund at The Denver Foundation, which just released its first Request for Proposals.

The fund will award approximately $5 million a year between 2015 and 2022 to increase access to behavioral health care and improve health outcomes for those with high health care needs across Colorado. 

The Colorado Health Institute and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved today released the Colorado Access to Care Index, a first-ever measurement of whether Coloradans are able to get the health care they need when they need it.

The index is based on 30 data points divided into three components measuring:

Colorado does not have enough dentists to adequately care for all of the 1.1 million Medicaid clients who now have dental coverage, according to a new Colorado Health Institute study.

Two policy decisions have resulted in a historic number of Medicaid clients with dental benefits. First, Colorado expanded Medicaid eligibility to more low-income residents. Colorado also extended dental benefits to all enrollees, even the adults who were not previously covered for dental care.

The Colorado Health Institute today released findings from the first consumer experience survey of Medicaid clients participating in the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC), the state’s signature project to reform the delivery of primary health care.

State Rep. Amy Stephens has joined the Colorado Health Institute as a policy adviser.

Rep. Stephens brings a state and national perspective on ideas and trends in health policy to CHI, a nonpartisan research institute. In her advisory role, she will help CHI ensure that it is researching and analyzing health policy proposals from across the political spectrum.

Mental health and access to mental health care are among the biggest health challenges for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) Coloradans, according to a new Colorado Health Institute analysis of pioneering state data on health disparities faced by the state’s LGB community.The Colorado Health Institute analyzed results from the 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS), which for the first time asked respondents to report on their sexual orientation, yielding insights on health insurance coverage, access to health care and how health care is used by LGB Coloradans.

Colorado has achieved uneven progress during the past year as it works toward becoming a healthier state, according to a new Colorado Health Institute analysis.

The Colorado Health Institute announced today that three health policy and health care experts have been appointed to the organization's board of trustees.

The Colorado Health Institute released a report today that gives a detailed picture of Colorado’s uninsured populations through a series of 17 maps, an analysis revealing significant statewide variations in demographic and geographic characteristics.

 “The Colorado Eligibility Atlas: Mapping the Uninsured,” focuses on the uninsured Coloradans who are eligible for public insurance programs or for health insurance tax credits through the state’s marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado.