Denver Health‚ the largest "safety net" hospital in Colorado‚ is nearing a crisis after rising numbers of illegal immigrants and homeless people are racking up hefty health care bills that they have little or no ability to pay.Since President Joe Biden took office and the southern border has been overrun with immigrants from all over the world‚ the cost of unpaid care at Denver Health has risen dramatically. In 2020‚ the hospital had about $60 million in unpaid care. By 2022‚ that number more than doubled to $125 million and then jumped another $11 million last year‚ bringing the total amount of unpaid care at Denver Health in 2023 to a whopping $136 million.Those numbers coincide with the significant rise in illegal immigrants entering the city in the last few years. According to Dr. Steven Federico‚ the chief government and community affairs officer for Denver Health‚ the hospital treated 8‚000 new patients from South and Central America in the last year‚ and those patients alone accounted for 20‚000 hospital visits."It’s not surprising when they get to Denver that there’s severe and acute health care needs‚" Federico said. Some of those "severe and acute health care needs" included dental emergencies‚ mental health counseling‚ and childbirth‚ Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne told the Denver City Council’s finance and government committee earlier this month. "While I have tremendous compassion for what’s going on‚ it’s heartbreaking‚ it’s going to break Denver Health‚" she explained. The hospital has contacted FEMA for more federal assistance with the cost of caring for illegal immigrants.Colorado likewise offers OmniSalud‚ a state-funded program that directs "undocumented Coloradans and DACA recipients" to individual health insurance plans that are often provided by an employer. "This plan is designed to improve access‚ affordability‚ and racial health equity for consumers purchasing health insurance in individual and small-group markets‚" the website says (emphasis not added).While many are pointing to illegal immigrants as the main cause of the hospital's shortfall‚ other uninsured patients have contributed to the problem as well. Federico also mentioned the growing population of "unhoused" persons‚ who often need mental health care and/or addiction treatment. Though $136 million sounds like an insurmountable deficit‚ Denver Health actually fell only $2 million short of breaking even in 2023. However‚ a $5 million donation from the state and additional $10 million from Kaiser Permanente — "one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans‚" according to its website — helped defray the costs of unpaid care. Such sizeable donations were likely a one-time deal‚ and even with the $30 million Denver Health receives from the city every year‚ hospital officials have scrambled to cut costs to keep it afloat going forward. Some of those cost-cutting measures included reducing raises for staff‚ delaying renovations to older areas of the facility‚ and closing 15 beds normally reserved for those needing psychiatric or addiction treatment."What I think is not being said is that Denver Health is at a critical‚ critical point‚ and that we need to take this up in 2024‚" Lynne pleaded with the city council committee. "Because our costs exceed our revenues‚ we are turning down patients every day‚ particularly in the area of mental health and substance abuse.""There’s going to be a point where the numbers make this very‚ very hard‚" added Dr. Taylor McCormick‚ associate director of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine at Denver Health. "We’re already past the breaking point‚ to a certain extent."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a lively exchange with television host and podcaster Howie Mandel surrounding claims in the media that were made about the efficacy of COVIID-19 vaccines. Mandel argued that the messaging was not as misleading as Kennedy was making it out to be.On Mandel's "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast‚ Kennedy attempted explained that the claims that were made after clinical COVID-19 vaccine trials were not transparent.Mandel acknowledged that there was an at-risk group of obese‚ ill‚ or older people who were more likely to need vaccination. Kennedy described Pfizer's clinical trial."The clinical trial study‚ you had 22‚000 people who took the vaccine and 22‚000 people got the placebo‚ and what the result was after six months‚ they had to hand that data to FDA in order to get the emergency use authorization‚" Kennedy began. "That data showed that in the vaccine group there was one COVID death of 22‚000 people over six months; in the unvaccinated group there were two COVID deaths of 22‚000 people‚ so that allowed the company to tell the public the vaccine is 100% effective.""That's a misnomer‚" Mandel quickly replied. "100% effective in as far as ... because I saw people on the news going 'well‚ I got the vaccine‚ I still got COVID.' They never said you won't get COVID; they just said that it'll kind of pull back the severity of it."Kennedy then reiterated‚ "What they're saying‚ out of 22‚000 people there was one COVID death among the vaccinated and there was two COVID deaths on the unvaccinated 22‚000 people‚ and that allowed them to claim it's 100% effective.""Effective for what? You can't use the word effective‚" Mandel exclaimed."You remember they kept saying it's 100% effective?" Kennedy asked."No‚ they just said it will negate the severity. ... The word 'effective' didn't say you won't get [it]‚ I never heard 'you won't get COVID‚'" Mandel added."It's not 100% effective‚ okay‚ because if that's the metric‚ what they really should have been telling us is that to prevent one COVID death‚ they need to give 22‚000 vaccines." \xf0\x9f\x94\xa5 Howie Mandel Tries to Rewrite History on the COVID Vaccine &; Immediately Gets Schooled by RFK Jr.\n\nHOWIE: "They never said you won't get COVID"\n\nRFK JR: "I saw a tape yesterday of them all saying it...Can I play it for you?"\n\nHOWIE: "Well‚ wait wait wait...It doesn't matter\xe2\x80\xa6 — (@) Mandel later summarized his position by explaining that many of the decisions made by the establishment were rushed due to panic."I believe a lot of mistakes were made‚ but we were panicked‚ and you know‚ we made decisions based on the amount of information that we had at the moment‚" he said‚ adding that guidance evolved as more information came to fruition.The TV-panel judge also plainly asked Kennedy if he was "anti-vaccine‚" to which the politician replied‚ "If you show me a vaccine that was safe and effective‚ that did what it was supposed to do‚ I would have no problem with it."Mandel‚ a longtime comedian‚ has continually stepped out of his typical element in recent months to support free speech and open commentary. In December 2023 Mandel appeared on the popular comedy podcast "Kill Tony" and praised the show for its free speech mentality."There's no such thing as political correctness; it's comedy! And now I live in L.A. and it's it's tough. I can't say what I want to say‚" he explained. "Only you give people a platform to do it right. It's funny‚ it's raw‚ [the audience isn't] recording it‚ you can say anything on this show!" he yelled.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Seattle high school teacher was accused of correcting a student for identifying as "straight" after pupils were given an assignment where they reflect on their sexual orientation‚ race‚ and more.Ian Golash‚ a 10th-grade teacher at Chief Sealth High School‚ teaches ethnic studies and world history. A complaint was filed by a parent after a child in his class alleged that Golash told him that being "straight" was offensive and implied that it suggests gay people are "crooked."As reported by the Post Millennial‚ students were given an assignment called the "Social Identity Wheel‚" which asked the kids to classify their race‚ gender‚ disability‚ sexual orientation‚ and more.The worksheet described gender as how students "socially identify [themselves] on the spectrum from young woman to young man."Examples given for sexual orientation included heterosexual‚ homosexual‚ "pansexual‚" and "asexual."This prompted the boy's mother to email the teacher and Principal Ray Garcia-Morales in September 2023. The email was obtained by 770 KTTH."When filling out a Social Identity Wheel‚ [the boy] was told that if he identifies as straight that he needed to pick a term that was less offensive. It is completely inappropriate to dictate what terms a student can and cannot use to identify themselves with‚" the mother reportedly wrote.In his response‚ Golash said that he didn't target the boy with his comments. However‚ his comments were to the classroom at large‚ explaining that he "stated explicitly that [he] was not going to tell them how they should identify except to explain the difference between race‚ ethnicity and nationality.""I think language has power and that it shapes the culture that we live in. I did say to the class‚ in response to a student‚ that I do not use the term ‘straight’ because it implies that to not be straight is to be ‘crooked’ which could have a negative connotation‚" Golash claimed. "But‚ again stated that I am not interested in telling them how they should identify and that the wheel they are completing is for their own reflection‚ not for me to assess."The same mother had previously accused Golash of failing her son on a quiz because he answered "true" to the statements "all men have penises" and "only women can get pregnant."Seattle's public school system allegedly said at the time that the quiz was to promote inclusion and was in line with course material. The course syllabus reportedly described the class as an investigation of "the global economy‚ society‚ and culture." Seattle teacher told students it\xe2\x80\x99s \xe2\x80\x98offensive\xe2\x80\x99 to identify as straight as it implies others are \xe2\x80\x98crooked\xe2\x80\x99 https://t.co/cgwjibSzoO — (@) Seattle Public Schools declined comment to the New York Post‚ citing that the district does not comment on pending litigation. The outlet also did not hear back from the school's principal.The Post Millennial noted that Golash has a criminal record and is already under investigation regarding the aforementioned quiz‚ as well as an alleged anti-Semitic lesson plan.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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