Recent Articles from Debra Melani
Colorado innovators weigh impact of contested tax
Although health-reform and fiscal-cliff fallout continues its scattered rain on all Colorado businesses, one large chunk has landed squarely in the front yards of the state’s medical-device companies. Now, with the ink barely dry on the first quarterly IRS payments for a 2.3-percent excise tax tha...
Pet insurance growing into workplace perk
If Lassie were to trot into a veterinary hospital today, the Hollywood collie who stole America’s heart in the TV show of the ‘50s-‘70s would probably fall over in shock, no command necessary. The medical field for her furry friends has reached such a high level of care, even unsuspecting owners rushing Fluffy and Fido […]
Obama’s health care act upheld
In June, as health-reform advocates were dancing in the streets and opponents were vowing a re-energized fight following the U.S. Supreme Court’s monumental upholding of the Affordable Care Act, Bill Lindsay was fielding an onslaught of calls from employers: What does this mean? What do I do? His...
Workplace wellness: Bootstrap fitness
Don’t tell Harold Jackson that your company is too small and your budget too tight to make a difference in employee health. And don’t tell him it doesn’t matter. In a company where once a quarter of the employee population smoked and candy was a daily staple, healthier habits now reign. And in som...
Made in Colorado: Pharmaceuticals and medical technology
ValveXchange Greenwood Villagewww.valvexchange.com Learning you need life-saving surgery to replace a malfunctioning heart valve can be an emotional jolt. But the aftershocks that follow are almost as hard for even the sturdiest of patients to withstand, according to Larry Blankenship, CEO of ValveXchange. “If you have heart-valve disease, you have bad choices today,” Blankenship said, [&helli[...]
Power of the pool
Richard Betts has witnessed the strain of the health-care crisis from all sides. As CEO of an 18-employee company, Betts knows the struggle of insuring workers amid ever-increasing premium hikes. And with 6,000 clients across the state using his accounting and payroll services, he sees fellow small-business owners battling with the issue every day, a […]
Conditioned for pain
Any seasoned Colorado employer won't be surprised: Health-insurance premiums are on the rise, expected to increase between 8 percent and 12 percent for 2012. But the fact that unrelenting double-digit increases have lost their ability to send some blood pressures spiking doesn't mean all employers...
Chasing the best deal for health
With four black belts in his closet and a mountain bike worth more than the car in his garage, Alan Hesker never dreamed a hip disorder would sideline him at age 46. The single father also never imagined that, with a good job and health insurance, the out-of-pocket expenses for the surgery he neede...
Obama-Care’s here, for better or worse
A year after President Obama's health-care reform was signed into law, frustration still reigns among many Colorado businesspeople. Pending lawsuits. Political bullying. Tenuous guidelines. These are just some of the reasons cited for their aggravation, with many in the state's work force saying th...
Top Company 2010: Colorado Uplift
Mike Painter talks about his kids like any proud parent. They’re hard-working and intelligent. Strong-willed and creative. And they are the president and CEO’s inspiration for returning to the corporate grind each day. But while bias spurs some parents’ gloating, Painter’s kids really are special. One girl, on track to graduate this year just shy […]
Gen XYZ: Kimberly Smith, 38, Avenue West Corporate Housing
Kimberly Smith entered the corporate-housing world on a fluke. Near the end of her college days as a political-science major, she took a trip to Vietnam, but decided to try a business internship in San Francisco when she returned. By the time she showed up to the Golden State, the only internship left was in […]
The Healing Game
If you can muddle through the rhetoric and set aside a rash of crystal-ball predictions surrounding health-care reform, you can find one thing that's clear about the landmark legislation: very little. The massive bill has brokers, lawyers and health-care administrators scratching their heads, as bu...