Author: Blair Miller

Health insurance rate deadline for Colorado hits as Hickenlooper, DeGette talk health care Monday

DENVER – Health care is slated for a big day in Colorado Monday, as several Democrats are holding high-profile events on the same day that insurance companies are supposed to submit their rate hike proposals to the state’s insurance division.

Gov. John Hickenlooper will join Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time Monday to extrapolate on a letter they and a bipartisan committee of governors sent to the U.S. Senate Friday asking for better protections in the Senate’s version of the American Health Care Act.

The Friday letter came from governors from both sides of the aisle in states that opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The governors say that the House-passed version of the bill “calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states.”

The governors wrote that the provisions in the bill involving Medicaid were “particularly problematic.”

They said they were ready to work with senators “to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound and provides quality, affordable coverage for our most vulnerable citizens.”

The letter asks that Congress focus on “improving” the private health insurance system in the U.S., and says that the House version of the bill fails to protect “millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction.”

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., had some strong words for his Republican colleagues Monday, who have been accused of keeping all details of the Senate’s health care bill secret — even from the Republicans not working on the bill.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R) has drawn criticism for being one of the 13 Republican senators reportedly developing the bill in private months after he called for transparency in the process to reform health care in the U.S.

“[Senate Republicans] are so ashamed of health care bill, they won’t even share it with GOP colleagues–much less Dems or American [people],” Bennet tweeted, following up with a hashtag: #NoHearingNoVote.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., brought further light to some of those concerns Monday morning when she hosted a news conference with providers, families and young people who might be affected by the potential cuts to Medicaid.

Though the Senate is reportedly working on a version of the AHCA that differs from the House-passed version, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the House bill would cut more than $800 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade, something that has caused concern and pause to Democrats, health care groups and groups serving low-income families and people with disabilities.

Estimates have shown that more than 400,000 people in Colorado added Medicaid coverage under the ACA’s expansion, and that nearly 1.3 million total Coloradans rely on Medicaid coverage.

DeGette said Monday that the AHCA was an “assault on our health care” and said it was time for lawmakers “to do the right thing for our kids.”

Monday is also a big day for Colorado’s insurance market, as it is the last day for insurance companies operating in the state to file their rate requests with the Colorado Division of Insurance.

Those filings could have huge ramifications in Colorado. Depending on the rate hike requests, and if Anthem decides to stay in Colorado, the coverage for people in more than a dozen Colorado counties could be up in the air.

But the Division of Insurance tells Denver7 that the requests will have to be analyzed and will likely not be publicly available until mid-July.

In a weekend story, The Denver Post reported that Kaiser Permanente was the only Colorado health care provider that explicitly committed to selling plans next year on the state health exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.

Spokespersons for Cigna and Anthem would only say they were eyeing the market conditions in the state.

Two of the seven companies operating on the state exchange, Colorado Choice Health Plans and Rocky Mountain Health Plans, did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

After the rate requests are made public, they will be open for public comment into August before the state decides whether to approve the new rates or to deny them.

The Senate continues to craft a bill through various committee meetings with Republicans and the president, though most senators admit they have yet to see a text of the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has floated the idea of trying to vote on the Senate’s version of the bill before the July 4 recess.

Democratic senators are also expected to try and hold the Senate floor Monday night to open up the debate on the health care bill. It’s unknown at this time if Sen. Michael Bennet will join them.

Centennial doctor murdered trying to help neighbor honored with Carnegie heroism medal

DENVER – Dr. Kenneth Atkinson, the man shot and killed while trying to protect his neighbors from a gunman in Centennial in April 2016, is being honored posthumously with a Carnegie medal for heroism.

Atkinson is one of 19 people receiving the honor Monday for bravery, and one of four people being honored who died during his act of heroism.

Atkinson’s killer, Kevin Lyons, was sentenced June 4 to life in prison without parole, plus 352 years, for Atkinson’s murder and other charges related to the shooting.

Lyons shot his wife at their home in early April 2016. She ran out of the home and across the street, where other neighbors, including Atkinson, tried to help.

Atkinson was on the phone with 911 when Lyons shot him, first in the leg, then again from close range—a shot that killed him.

Lyons’ wife and another woman were both also wounded in the shooting.

After Atkinson’s death, those who worked with him at a Centennial clinic he ran said he had been committed to his patients for decades, and said he was a loving family man who would do anything for others.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission has given out nearly 10,000 of the medals for heroism since 1904.

Gardner reneges on transparency concerns as Colo. Dems, bipartisan governors call for AHCA changes

DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday joined several other Republican and Democratic governors in criticizing the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act, saying it does not adequately protect millions of Americans and needs fixing.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat, joined Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker (R), Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) in signing the letter criticizing the House version of the bill. Continue reading

Anadarko and subsidiary Kerr-McGee granted extra month to finish Colorado well audit, make changes

DENVER – Colorado’s oil and gas regulators will allow at least one operator an extra month to plug and abandon thousands of return lines in an ongoing audit of all of the state’s oil and gas wells and flowlines.

Kerr-McGee, which is a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, requested in a June 15 letter to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that the deadline for the second phase of the inspection process—which required operators to test all their flowlines within 1,000 feet of a building for integrity—be extended to July 31.

The company said in addition to meeting the deadlines set forth by Gov. John Hickenlooper and COGCC, that it has “undertaken additional and significant voluntary actions to help residents feel safe in their homes.”

COGCC granted the request and said it was supportive of the extra effort.

“Anadarko is going above and beyond initial requirements and its request comports with updated guidance,” COGCC spokesman Todd Hartman said Friday.

The COGCC updated its notice to operators about the inspection efforts on June 7, and included a clause that said “operators may opt to reconfigure systems to remove existing return or supply gas lines and replace them with on-location wellhead gas or compressed air.”

But it said that the operators who wished to do so had to submit a written request to COGCC on or before June 15—a deadline Kerr-McGee and Anadarko met. COGCC would grant the extensions on a “case-by-case basis,” it said.

Kerr-McGee and Anadarko said they have dedicated at least 370 employees and contractors to the inspection and replacement process.

“As the largest operator in this region, we take our responsibility very seriously,” the letter to COGCC said.

“We continue to make good progress on the portion of Phase 2 requiring integrity testing of all flowlines between a wellhead and production facility within 1,000 feet of a building unit,” the company added.

It said that at this point, “the majority” of the company’s efforts were “focused on the safe and thorough abandonment of approximately 2,00 inactive steel flowlines,” which the company said was “about 15 percent complete” as of June 15.

Operators had been required to report back to the state on the locations of every existing flowline not being actively used and to map the location of active flowlines.

On June 2, COGCC said it had received 129 reports—more than the 116 COGCC had expected.

COGCC also said that it was possible some of the operators have over-reported, noting that at least one large operator gave information for each well and flowline within 1,500 feet of buildings—beyond the 1,000-foot limit.

Hartman said on June 2 that COGCC believed the oil and gas industry was taking compliance with the state’s orders seriously.

Anadarko temporarily shut in 3,000 of its vertical wells and flowlines after an April 17 explosion in Firestone killed two people and severely injured another. A leaking abandoned flowline was found to have caused the explosion after methane gas built up in the home’s basement.

Kerr-McGee was the operator of an oil tank battery that exploded during a construction incident in Mead weeks later, killing one and injuring three others.

Top science journal takes issue with Justice Dept. heads’ ideas on marijuana and health

DENVER – The country’s oldest monthly magazine, Scientific American, slammed the Justice Department’s top two officials for their recent comments on marijuana in a column published Wednesday.

First, Massroots.com on Monday reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them to help him undo the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which stopped the DOJ from using federal money to prosecute people inside states with legal medical marijuana programs.

“I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,” Sessions wrote in the letter. “The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”

The letter went on to ask lawmakers to include language in the next fiscal year’s budget that says marijuana can lead to “significant negative health effects.”

Sessions has left many wondering what the Justice Department will do with states’ medical and recreational marijuana programs, as he has made veiled statements in the past few months. As a congressman, he became well-known in marijuana advocacy circles for his declaration that “good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

He at one point compared medical marijuana users to opioid users, and has batted down any scientific studies that say medical marijuana may greatly reduce opioid use among abusers trying to get clean.

But it’s unclear if Sessions’ request will hold any water with lawmakers, who have passed the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment in each fiscal year’s budget since it was first introduced. A review of marijuana laws is set to be completed by July, according to Massroots.

And the 2013 Cole Memo from the Justice Department specifically implemented guidelines for how states could avoid interference from federal agents and prosecutors—something Sessions has said was “valuable.”

But on Tuesday, Sessions’ deputy, Rosenstein, told both the House and Senate’s appropriations committees that the Justice Department would continue to keep marijuana as a Schedule I drug—the classification used for the most dangerous drugs.

“It’s illegal, and that is the federal policy with regards to marijuana,” Rosenstein said.

But he also noted that the Cole Memo is in effect, which he called it a “policy which is an effort to balance the conflicting interests with regard to marijuana.”

He also said, like Sessions has in the past, said that “scientists have found that there’s no accepted medical use for” marijuana—a notion that Scientific American shredded in its Wednesday column.

“This epidemic is one of addiction and overdose deaths fueled by opioids—heroin, fentanyl and prescription painkillers—not marijuana,” Scientific American’s Dina Fine Maron wrote. “In fact, places where the U.S. has legalized medical marijuana have lower rates of opioid deaths.”

The author then went on to note several scientific, peer-reviewed studies that seem to contradict both Sessions’ and Rosenstein’s stances.

One of studies was done by University of Michigan researchers and published last year. It found that chronic pain sufferers who used cannabis saw a 64 percent drop in opioid use.

Another study, from the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that yearly overdose deaths involving opioids were close to 25 percent lower in states with medical marijuana programs.

The column also noted that dependency for marijuana users was far lower than users of opioids, tobacco, alcohol and cocaine, and that “it is virtually impossible to lethally overdose on marijuana,” citing the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Attorney General Cynthia Coffman have both been active in finding out how the feds may deal with marijuana under the new administration.

Hickenlooper, along with governors of other states with legal marijuana programs, sent a letter to the Treasury and Justice departments in April asking Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to “engage” them directly before changing any regulations on the federal level.

Hickenlooper also earlier this year said he believed marijuana was a states’ rights issue and that state sovereignty should be respected.

Coffman personally invited Sessions and his staff to come visit Colorado to see its program first-hand, but the Justice Department has so far not made good on her request.

New marijuana growing rules taking hold in Colorado by start of next year: what you need to know

DENVER – Colorado law enforcement and marijuana growers will have to make some adjustments regarding marijuana growing in the state over the next six months, as two new laws aimed at reducing illegal marijuana cultivation and dealing will take effect.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed two bills last week aimed directly at cutting down on high plant limits and reducing the flow of Colorado pot to other states—something law enforcement agencies say has become an increasing problem in recent years.

House Bill 1220 will cap the number of plants allowed for recreational users to only 12 per house or “residential property,” and will cap the number of plants for medical marijuana growers and caregivers at 24.

The law will allow local jurisdictions and municipalities to enact rules to allow growers to raise more plants than the statewide limit, however.

Denver, Colorado Springs, Douglas County, Carbondale and Lafayette were among the jurisdictions that had already capped the number of marijuana plants allowed to be grown on residential property at 12.

Colorado had been the only of dozens of states that have medical marijuana programs to allow patients or caregivers to grow more than 16 plants. The state allowed them to grow up to 99 based off a doctor’s recommendation.

House Bill 1220, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, will also allow district attorneys to charge people who break the new plant limit law.

A first offense involving more than 12 plants will be considered a level 1 drug petty offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.

A second or subsequent offense involving between 12 and 24 plants will carry a level 1 drug misdemeanor charge, and a second or subsequent offense involving more than 24 plants will be considered a level 3 drug felony.

The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Cole Wist, R-Centennial and Rep. KC Becker, D-Boulder, said the bill will establish much-needed safeguards against illegal growing, which leads to a larger black market for Colorado pot.

And starting on July 1, state and local officials will start cracking down on illegal marijuana growers and distributors as a result of House Bill 1221, which Hickenlooper also signed last week.

The bill creates an enforcement grant program that will allow local jurisdictions to apply for grant money to fight illegal grows and distribution networks, with priority added to rural municipalities and counties with small budgets to do such work.

The bill defines “rural areas” as counties with fewer than 200,000 people and towns or cities with less than 30,000 people that is at least 10 miles away from a town or city with more than 50,000 people.

The grants will help small district attorney’s offices and agencies to cover the costs incurred by identifying and busting unlicensed grows.

The money for the grants would come from either the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund or the Proposition AA refund account. Under the bill, any money not dispersed through grants that is appropriated can be spent the next year without being re-appropriated.

The bill also mandates that beginning Nov. 1, 2019, the Division of Local Government would have to update to Senate and House committees on the program’s effectiveness. Subsequent updates would be required on or before Nov. 1 of each following year.

Around $5.94 million has already been appropriated to the Department of Local Affairs to enact the program starting July 1. Nearly all of the money will be used for the grant program, though $21,000 will cover the purchase of new IT services and around $4,700 will cover legal services.

The bill also allows the prosecution of anyone not in compliance with state caregiver guidelines to begin under the new law starting July 1.

Colorado’s Republican House Minority Leader seemingly uses congressman’s shooting to raise money

DENVER – Colorado’s Republican House Minority Leader is under fire for what some are saying was a thinly-veiled attempt to raise money for a conservative political action committee off of Wednesday’s shooting of a U.S. congressmen, several aides and police officers.

Denver Daily Beast contributor Dave Maney first raised the issue, tweeting out an email from Colorado Liberty PAC signed by House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, in which Neville says that the Virginia shooting was an “attack tantamount to political terrorism aimed at shutting up Conservatives, Republicans, and Americans like you.” Continue reading

Fremont County deputy put on leave amid investigation; 6th deputy put on leave in 2017

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. – Another Fremont County sheriff’s deputy has been put on administrative leave—the sixth so far in 2017.

Deputy Brody Koch was put on administrative leave Wednesday over allegations “concerning misuse of force during an arrest,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Koch will be on leave until the internal investigation is concluded. The administrative leave is standard for such investigations.

But Koch is the sixth Fremont County deputy in 5 ½ months to be placed on leave for various reasons.

Two sheriff’s office deputies recently returned to work after being placed on leave. Lt. Bruce Briscoe had been put on leave amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old in 1999, but KRDO reports that no evidence was available after 18 years, and thus no charges were filed by the district attorney.

Deputy Tyler Mattson also returned to work on May 24 after he was put on leave for unknown administrative reasons.

Lt. Robert Dodd retired in April after being put on leave Jan. 1 after evidence relating to an old murder case was found in a storage locker that used to belong to him.

He faces charges on abusing public records and official misconduct.

Sgt. Aaron Hart is on leave amid an internal affairs investigation into some of his DUI stops—concerns that were raised by a Colorado State Patrol officer, KRDO reports.

And Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Brandon Tilley was put on leave in early May after his son arrived to school with multiple bruises. He faces child abuse and assault charges.

Family identifies alleged Munich train station shooter as 37-year-old from Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The man accused of shooting a police officer at a train station near Munich, Germany is a 37-year-old man from Fort Collins, identified as Alexander Bischof by multiple family members.

German media had only identified the alleged shooter at “Alexander B,” but Denver7 has confirmed with several of Bischof’s family members that Alexander had been visiting family in the area, and that Alexander had been arrested in connection with the Tuesday shooting. Continue reading

Race already heating up for Polis’ congressional seat after he announces governorship candidacy

DENVER – The race to replace Jared Polis as Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District representative is already heating up just days after the congressman announced he was running for governor in 2018.

Joe Neguse, an attorney and former CU regent who is the son of Eritrean immigrants, announced his candidacy for the seat—which covers either most of or all of Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Gran, Jefferson, Larimer, Park and Summit counties—on Monday.

Neguse narrowly lost to Wayne Williams in the 2014 secretary of state race after winning the Democratic nomination.

“My family’s story embodies the American Dream, but today under President Trump that dream is turning into a nightmare for far too many, and it’s up to us to fight back,” Neguse said.

Gov. John Hickenlooper also announced Tuesday that Neguse would resign from his current position as executive director of the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies effective June 26 after serving two years in Hickenlooper’s cabinet. He was among the youngest cabinet members in Colorado history.

“He has been an invaluable asset to DORA as he consistently worked to cut red tape all the while championing consumer protection,” Hickenlooper said of Neguse. “We will miss his leadership, but wish him much success.”

He co-founded New Era Colorado in the mid-2000s, which became the largest youth voter registration nonprofit in the state, and also worked to fight climate change.

His parents immigrated to the U.S. as refugees, and many of his policies surround equal opportunities for refugees, immigrants and minorities.

Neguse has already received endorsements from dozens of former and current state and local officials.

Though he is the only person so far to announce his intent to run for the seat, which has been held by Democrats since Tim Wirth won the seat in the 1974 election, there are more likely to follow, as Mark Udall’s 1998 win over Bob Greenlee was the only time since 1990 that Republicans have come within 10 percentage points of the Democratic candidate.

Among those whose names have been floated for the seat are Shannon Watts and Ken Toltz—both of whom who are also liberal Democrats.

“A Congressional seat opening up where I live…Hmmmm,” Watts tweeted after Polis announced his governorship candidacy.

She is a former executive who founded Moms Demand Action following the Sandy Hook massacre, a group aimed at bringing “common-sense” solutions to U.S. gun control who moved to Colorado in recent years.

She also was the impetus for a story that made national news after two girls were kicked off a United Airlines flight for wearing leggings in violation of the company’s travel orders for standby tickets.

Toltz has been fighting gun violence since before 2000, when he ran against Tom Tancredo, and eventually created Safe Campus Colorado to lobby against firearms usage and concealed carrying on state campuses.

Polis has held the seat since he was elected in 2008 and sworn in in early 2009. He defeated Republican challenger Nicholas Morse by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016.

Polis joins a crowded field for the governorship that already includes fellow Rep. Ed Perlmutter on the Democratic side, among many others.