Denver Attorney Who Believes in Health Care Access for All Coloradoans Receives $120,000 Health Leadership Award

BOSTON – Attorney Elisabeth Arenales believes that all Americans should have access to basic health care and has dedicated her professional life to making that goal a reality in Colorado. As Healthcare Policy Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP), she advocates for health care justice for all and she believes in working collaboratively toward that goal. But when the stakes are high, Arenales isn’t afraid to go to court.

CCLP works closely with the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI), of which Arenales is the founding Board Chair. While both focus on education and advocacy; CCLP provides legal, fiscal and policy expertise, while CCHI works to bring a united consumer voice to the health care policy debate. Together, the two groups are promoting a recently funded statewide education campaign on health access, a critical initial step to realizing the vision of health care access for all Coloradoans.

Arenales and her fellow advocates have had notable victories. Recently they defeated a Medicaid waiver proposal that would have reduced program benefits and put the state at significant financial risk. One of Arenales’ first health policy successes was advocating on behalf of families to restructure the state’s Child Health Plan to make premiums more affordable for low income families. Arenales and CCHI are now working to lessen the impact of a new federal law that will make it much more difficult for US citizens to access Medicaid.

It is for Arenales’ work on behalf of low-income residents of Colorado that she is being honored as one of 10 outstanding individuals from across America chosen to receive the 2006 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program award.

Arenales and CCLP don’t shrink from lawsuits when they are necessary. In 2003, Colorado passed a law denying Medicaid to legal immigrants, leaving many elderly, sick and disabled people bewildered and fearful of losing critical medical services. She took the lead in initiating a suit that delayed implementation of the law until CCHI and other community partners secured funding to restore the program. In 2004 CCLP undertook a major suit against the state when failed implementation of a computer system (the Colorado Benefits Management System) that was designed to coordinate benefits for public programs prevented residents from receiving necessary services, including food and medical care.

Colorado Senator Bob Hagedorn doesn’t always agree with Arenales, but, like so many others, admires her. “Ms. Arenales is a tireless and effective advocate,” he said. “I rely on her legal and health care expertise and her skilled and thoughtful analysis of health proposals, as do many of my legislative colleagues and community health advocates.”

“Last summer’s devastating hurricanes brought into focus for all Americans the gaping holes in this country’s safety net,” said Catherine Dunham, Ed.D., Program Director, Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program. “It reinforced what we know to be true; that local leaders taking the initiative are really the first and best responders whether the issue is access to care or youth development in underserved areas.”

The program awards $1.2 million each year to health leaders who have surmounted personal and other obstacles to help Americans gain access to heath care and social services. Arenales and this year’s other health leaders were honored at a June 21 event at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. She will receive $105,000 to further the work of her program and a $15,000 personal award.

Arenales was chosen from more than 300 people nominated this year. Since 1992, the program has distributed 140 awards in 47 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Those chosen are nominated by civic leaders, health professionals, government representatives and others inspired by their efforts to provide essential health services to their communities. This year’s award winners represent urban and rural areas of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and the District of Columbia.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

###