Colorado vs. Massachusetts (Denver, Lake City: insurance, homes, living in) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

Jozeph · 10-31-2015, 01:20 PM

Hello, everyone! A friend of mine says his state (MA) has the best health care system in the whole country. How does CO compare with the said state when it comes to providing health care to its residents? Any response will be greatly appreciated, as always!

Dreaming of Hawaii · 10-31-2015, 01:46 PM

You've asked around about warm temps and health care in Colorado. What is it that you are looking for? Why are you thinking of moving to Colorado? Where do you live now?

I would think that the major questions you should be asking would be about cost of living, availability of jobs (if appropriate) in your field, etc. if you can't afford to live in Colorado, then it doesn't matter what the temperature is.

There are some pretty major differences between living in the East and living in Colorado. I suggest that you read through some of the posts on the forum discussing this. People have moved to Colorado from the DC area, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and have offered lots of insight.

Katarina Witt · 10-31-2015, 02:37 PM

OP, I don't think most of us would be able to make that comparison, as we haven't lived in both places, particularly in the recent past. There is an active poster here from MA, but he's lived here a long time. MA has several quality medical facilities; Colorado is a big center for the moutain west area.

Jozeph · 10-31-2015, 03:40 PM

Oops, I guess I should have named this thread in a different way - it should have been "Colorado's health care system" instead. Maybe I will have to create a new thread; sorry about that, guys!

Jozeph · 10-31-2015, 03:44 PM

May I ask what's in the mountain west area?

Katarina Witt · 10-31-2015, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jozeph

May I ask what's in the mountain west area?

Colorado, Wyoming. I think the people farther west, e.g. Idaho, MT go to Salt Lake City if they need more than what the local physicians can provide. I think some people from western Nebraska use CO facilities in that case as well.

Jozeph · 10-31-2015, 04:16 PM

Oh, I see; thank you for the explanation. This actually means that Colorado does provide a good health care service (at least better than Nebraska), or people from other state (or states) won't cross the state lines to seek medical help.

Katarina Witt · 10-31-2015, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jozeph

Oh, I see; thank you for the explanation. This actually means that Colorado does provide a good health care service (at least better than Nebraska), or people from other state (or states) won't cross the state lines to seek medical help.

IMO, as a health care provider, yes, Colorado provides good health care. Better than Nebraska? I don't know. Nebraska's health care centers are in Omaha, 550 miles east of Denver, and farther for many in western Nebraska than Denver.

davebarnes · 10-31-2015, 05:30 PM

1. Not many cities can beat the huge health care complex in Boston/Cambridge.
a. How do the people in Rowe, MA benefit from this?

2. Denver is pretty good. Greater Denver is good.

3. Most of Colorado outside of the Front Range is problematic.
a. Number of hospitals. There are few.
b. Distance to hospitals (coming from Mass, you have no conception of the distances here (trust me, I moved from the Boston burbs to Denver)).
c. Insurance costs. Obamacare rates are high and going way up. See a. above.

livecontent · 10-31-2015, 07:12 PM

Comparing CO to MA for health care services is ridiculous. You look at cities not at the whole state. If you want the best healthcare in any state, you really have to live near a larger metro area. Rural areas in any state has less quality of healthcare because:

Doctors and Specialist do not practice there in large number. They have to be near areas of technology of medicine, testing and delivery. It cost plenty to implement these systems and you need a larger population base.

More Hospitals, especially Tier 1 Emergency Hospitals exist in larger areas. You have much more options of care from doctors, hospitals, rehab facilities, nursing homes and testing facilities in large cities.

Living in Rural areas takes you farther away from these practitioners and health facilities. So, in an emergency you qualify of care to save your life is threatened by distance.

Insurance options are greater in areas of larger population.

So if you are concerned by healthcare delivery, live in a larger metro area; in Colorado that means our few cities. In our cities we have good to excellent healthcare.

If you want to live in Boston then live there; If you want to live in Denver then live there. If you want to get obsessive about health delivery between a big hospital in Boston and a big hospital in Denver, then do it. However, essentially it is the same unless you have very specific health care problem where the best and the brightest are needed then you would look for the best care for that specific condition all over the country.

Livecontent