Valley Health Alliance works

The locally based Valley Health Alliance appreciates the thought and effort that Coloradans of all stripes are putting into lower health care costs for all of us. The state Legislature is on the cusp of finalizing a new law that will lower health insurance premiums by a minimum of 15% over the next three years. There are also organizations that have helped individual communities lower health care costs on the Front Range, in the mountains and in southwest Colorado. 

Closer to home, the Valley Health Alliance has made strides to improve our health care outcomes and lower health insurance costs. The Valley Health Alliance is composed of local employers and health care providers in Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin counties. Another one of our priorities is to ensure we all have access to the care we need and expect in the Parachute-to-Aspen region. We are working for you right here, right now.

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Specifically, the Valley Health Alliance worked to bring Rocky Mountain Health Plans into the individual health insurance market and UnitedHealthcare into the small group market for 2021. It’s the first time since 2017 that individuals and businesses here have had a choice of insurance carriers. As a result, health insurance costs are lower. Some plans offered on the individual exchange by Rocky Mountain Health Plans are more than 10% below those offered by longtime carrier Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. 

The Valley Health Alliance is continuing its work now to help lower health care costs in 2022. Please visit our website, OurVHA.org to learn more.

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Chris McDowell, 

executive director, 

Valley Health Alliance

Carbondale

Not a local plane

Recently there was a letter to the editor by Philip Maass (June 2) regarding an impolite pilot flying over the Elk Springs Subdivision and doing aerobatics. I reached out to Mr. Maass to explain that there is no plane located at the Glenwood Springs Airport capable of doing the loops he described. The plane is thought to be out of the Eagle-Vail area. 

A knowledgeable local witnessed the airshow and said the plane was an “Extra 300” and, though loud, never flew below the legal FAA limits. That particular plane, made in Germany, is a highly capable, competition aerobatic plane. 

The Glenwood Springs Airport is a tremendous asset enjoyed by thousands. Two of the past three years the airport has served as a base for critical firefighting operations. Classic Air Ambulance operates out of the airport, and the local pilot community works hard at being respectful and neighborly. 

I will try and reach out to the pilot and explain that, although permissible, we would request that he practice these maneuvers somewhere else. This courtesy would be greatly appreciated by the local pilot community and definitely by some of the Elk Springs residents.

Eric Strautman

Glenwood Springs