Colorado Checkup: May 31, 2023

Students in Rural Colorado Are Left Without Options as Specialized Schools Close
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Helen Santoro A new state law aims to keep the doors open at schools that accept students with intensive needs. One preteen in rural Colorado shows how the current system leaves some students bouncing between institutions far from home.

This Panel Will Decide Whose Medicine to Make Affordable. Its Choice Will Be Tricky.
By Markian Hawryluk Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.

As Water Levels Drop, the Risk of Arsenic Rises
By Melissa Bailey As the West grapples with a megadrought, its driest spell in at least 1,200 years, rising levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — in Colorado’s San Luis Valley offer clues to what the future may hold.

Domestic Violence Shelters Move Out of Hiding
By Katheryn Houghton A new domestic violence shelter in Bozeman, Montana, reflects efforts nationwide to rethink the model that keeps survivors of abuse in hiding. But there are no guidelines for bringing shelters out into the open, leaving each to make it up as they go.

New Mexico Program to Reduce Maternity Care Deserts in Rural Areas Fights for Survival
By Sarah Jane Tribble A federally funded program in remote New Mexico has helped hundreds of pregnant mothers stay healthy, but it’s running out of time and money despite a growing national maternity care crisis. The four-year, nearly $3 million grant has provided telehealth, coordinated care, and social services to mothers in need.