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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Denver.

Axios Denver

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Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters John Frank, Alayna Alvarez and Esteban L. Hernandez.

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A guide to fun things to do in Denver this weekend.

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Denver's most streamed songs on Spotify in 2023

We trended with the U.S. as a whole, picking the same top artist and song.

Culture

Migrants arriving in Denver are struggling to find work

The application fee for federal work permits is $545 — too high for many migrants in Denver to afford.

News

11 of the best holiday pop-up bars around Denver

'Tis the season for festive cocktails full of cheer.

Food and Drink

Here's how you can give back around Denver this holiday season

We rounded up some of the best opportunities to volunteer in the metro.

Things to Do

Colorado struggles to cut unnecessary medical care, despite focus on costs

Health care providers in Colorado are ordering ineffective treatments and tests at a startling rate.

Health

Health care providers in Colorado are ordering ineffective treatments and tests at a startling rate, driving up costs for payers and complications for patients, a new report finds.Driving the news: Colorado payers — including patients, insurers and the government — spent $134 million in 2022 on low-value care, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Center for Improving Value in Health Care" data-vars-click-url="https://civhc.org/" data-vars-content-id="b4dcf946-3f0b-4cd9-9afc-6deb44c33d1d" data-vars-headline="Colorado struggles to cut unnecessary medical care, despite focus on costs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://civhc.org/" target="_blank">Center for Improving Value in Health Care</a>, a Denver nonprofit.

Lalit Bajaj, left, an emergency medicine doctor at Children’s Hospital Colorado, with fellow emergency physician Julia Fuzak Freeman. Photo courtesy of Austin Day/Colorado Children's Hospital

Colorado Medicaid disenrollments snag a well-connected lobbyist

Kenny Maestas, 59, has been on Medicaid since the 90s.

Kenny Maestas&#x27; experience facing disenrollment from Colorado&#x27;s Medicaid program this fall shows just how difficult dealing with the system&#x27;s red tape can be, even for the most plugged-in beneficiaries.Zoom in: Maestas, 59, has used a wheelchair since a car accident in 1987 caused a severe spinal cord injury. He has been on Medicaid since the 1990s.

Image of Colorado disability advocate Kenny Maestas, with a teal background and blue medical crosses

How to avoid injuries on the ski slopes

The key to a fun winter is staying in one piece.

The key to a fun winter is staying in one piece.State of play: It doesn&#x27;t matter how much it snows if you&#x27;re injured and can&#x27;t enjoy it.

Illustration of a caution sign with a snowflake instead of a circle in the exclamation point.

Colorado health insurance prices to increase next year

The cost of health insurance purchased on the individual marketplace will increase 10%.

Politics

The cost of health insurance purchased on the individual marketplace will increase 10% in 2024, on par with the prior year.Why it matters: The rates are being closely monitored after Colorado mandated 10% cuts for premiums as part of a controversial 2021 law creating a public option, and this year&#x27;s numbers started a debate about whether it&#x27;s working as intended.

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How much abortion increased in Colorado in the year post-Dobbs

It's an estimated cumulative increase of 5,760 abortions over the course of the year.

The number of monthly abortions in Colorado increased by an average 29% after the Supreme Court <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="spiked Roe v. Wade" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/06/24/colorado-reversal-roe-wade-supreme-court" data-vars-content-id="96f2fd0b-87e3-4f8f-a49d-bf30113ee9c3" data-vars-headline="How much abortion increased in Colorado in the year post-Dobbs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/06/24/colorado-reversal-roe-wade-supreme-court" target="_self">spiked Roe v. Wade</a>, a first-of-its-kind study finds.Why it matters: The new count from the Denver-based <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Society of Family Planning" data-vars-click-url="https://societyfp.org/" data-vars-content-id="96f2fd0b-87e3-4f8f-a49d-bf30113ee9c3" data-vars-headline="How much abortion increased in Colorado in the year post-Dobbs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://societyfp.org/" target="_blank">Society of Family Planning</a> is the first to encompass the full year since the SCOTUS ruling.

TBD Health's new Denver clinic aims to destigmatize sex

The company's new clinic is only its second in the nation.

TBD Health is taking a lesson from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Salt-N-Pepa&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrtF45-y-g" data-vars-content-id="88b76db9-3ed0-4050-8211-d5d487f9f0a3" data-vars-headline="TBD Health&#x27;s new Denver clinic aims to destigmatize sex" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrtF45-y-g" target="_blank">Salt-N-Pepa&#x27;s</a> playbook: When it comes to sex, &quot;tell it how it is — and how it could be.&quot;State of play: The company&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new clinic in Denver" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tbd.health/clinic/denver-larimer#" data-vars-content-id="88b76db9-3ed0-4050-8211-d5d487f9f0a3" data-vars-headline="TBD Health&#x27;s new Denver clinic aims to destigmatize sex" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tbd.health/clinic/denver-larimer#" target="_blank">new clinic in Denver</a> — only its second in the nation — seeks to destigmatize sexual health and reframe the discussion in positive terms.

Kaiser health care workers on strike in Colorado

The two sides worked through the night but failed to reach a deal before Wednesday.

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers began a three-day strike Wednesday morning at hospitals and medical offices in Denver and across the country.What&#x27;s happening: Kaiser and a coalition of unions representing its workers worked through the night but failed to reach a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="deal to renew a contract" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-diego/2023/09/21/kaiser-permanente-health-care-workers-san-diego-vote-strike" data-vars-content-id="844eb58e-39a6-4b3a-a549-3e571cc3271a" data-vars-headline="Kaiser health care workers on strike in Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-diego/2023/09/21/kaiser-permanente-health-care-workers-san-diego-vote-strike" target="_self">deal to renew a contract</a> that expired Sept. 30.

COVID booster shots hard to find in Colorado

If you're looking for a COVID-19 booster shot, good luck.

If you&#x27;re looking for a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="COVID-19 booster shot" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/11/fda-approves-updated-covid-19-vaccines" data-vars-content-id="21b891be-4786-4094-a945-891c0760e8e3" data-vars-headline="COVID booster shots hard to find in Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/11/fda-approves-updated-covid-19-vaccines" target="_self">COVID-19 booster shot</a>, good luck.Driving the news: High demand and limited supply is making the vaccine hard to find in Colorado as health care providers struggle to get allocations.

Illustration of three boxes that have a checkmark made of a syringe.

What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall

Infectious diseases pose a triple threat but vaccines are available.

This fall, infectious diseases pose a triple threat.What&#x27;s happening: A potent flu virus, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="resurgent COVID-19" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/18/covid-colorado-hospitalizations-cases" data-vars-content-id="4d3414d4-f352-4803-9012-fde66dc0a812" data-vars-headline="What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/18/covid-colorado-hospitalizations-cases" target="_self">resurgent COVID-19</a> and rebounding RSV are combining to prompt new warnings in Colorado about the coming seasons when all three will be circulating.<ul><li>Based on case rates in Australia, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="UCHealth experts" data-vars-click-url="https://www.uchealth.org/today/covid-vaccines-2023-2024-coming-this-fall/" data-vars-content-id="4d3414d4-f352-4803-9012-fde66dc0a812" data-vars-headline="What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.uchealth.org/today/covid-vaccines-2023-2024-coming-this-fall/" target="_blank">UCHealth experts</a> are predicting higher-than-average rates here for all three viruses.</li></ul>

Illustration of a pattern of covid particles and positive signs turning into each other.

CU Boulder nanoengineer creates "smart tattoo" using ink that changes with light

Bruns, who works at the University of Colorado-Boulder, tattooed his arm with an ink that changes with light.

Nanoengineer Carson Bruns decided to be his own guinea pig for his latest invention.Details: Bruns, who works at the University of Colorado Boulder, tattooed his arm with an ink that changes with light.

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