What a healthcare-for-all system could look like

In a five-part series provided by nonprofit, donor-funded Colorado Public News, investigative journalists examine how Grand Junction, Colo., has emerged as a model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare.

• Part 1 details how healthcare professionals have built a systemwith an emphasis on primary care and prevention. Accompanying thestories are charts ranking more than 300 cities for costand quality,and another chart detailing the differences in spendingat the end of life in high- and low-cost cities.

• Part 2 highlights two key factors in the system, includinghospicecare and a clinicfor the uninsured.

• Part 3 features a video on Grand Junction’s healthcaresystem, and a bullet-point breakdown of howthe system is unusual. Additionally, KBDI Channel 12 in Denveraired a discussion and live call-in programfocusing on the Grand Junction healthcare system (view the video on KBDI’s website).

• Part 4 explains howa simpler approach to healthcare can keep costs low in caringfor back pain. A chart shows the dramaticdifference in chronic disease in low-cost Grand Junction andhigh-cost McAllen, Texas.

• Part 5 explores whether the Grand Junction model canbe replicated in other communities, and details where it findssavings.

View all published parts here.

This series was provided to the Los Angeles Times by Colorado Public News, an affiliate of Colorado PublicTelevision. It was produced as a project for The CaliforniaEndowment Health Journalism Fellowships, a program of USC’sAnnenberg School for Communication & Journalism.