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Kaiser Permanente adds 200 jobs in Metro Denver
Kaiser Permanente announced on May 21, 2008 that it plans to locate a national customer service division employing 200 people in Metro Denver.
Currently located in Ft. Worth, TX, Kaiser Permanente's Consolidated Service Center (CSC) will move a portion of its operations to California and the remaining functions will relocate to Colorado. The CSC processes member enrollment, premium billing, and collection and reconciliation for five Kaiser Permanente regions: Hawaii, Northwest, Colorado, Ohio, and Georgia.
"We are very pleased that Kaiser Permanente has chosen to further invest its resources in the Metro Denver region by locating this division here," said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. "Kaiser's continued expansion here is significant news for the region's economic growth."
Kaiser Permanente Colorado is one of the largest healthcare employers in the region. Since 2003, the organization has experienced a 27 percent increase in job growth.
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Colorado Gov. signs key business legislation
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed several bills on May 20, 2008 that will give a significant boost to the state's economy.
The legislation will ease the tax burden on businesses and provide incentives to keep Colorado companies competitive in the 21st century. Key bills include:
- HB 1225 raises the exemption threshold to $7,000 over five years for Colorado's Business Personal Property Tax.
- HB 1380 simplifies Colorado's corporate tax structure by establishing a "single sales factor" for multi-state corporations.
- HB 1261 abolishes Colorado's "fly-away" sales tax on airplanes manufactured in Colorado but sold to out-of-state owners.
- HB 1183 will make it easier for businesses to qualify for job-creation incentives through the state's Performance-Based Incentives Fund.
"Back in September, we first announced our 2008 legislative agenda to keep businesses in Colorado competitive," Gov. Ritter said. "People called it the most robust economic-development package in 10 or 20 years. I'm extremely pleased to be signing these bills into law today, as they represent some of our biggest successes of the entire legislative session."
Gov. Ritter also signed into law a measure creating the Colorado Bioscience Research Grant Program, providing $26.5 million over five years to help grow the bioscience industry in Colorado.
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State's federal labs net nearly $1.2 billion in economic activity
Federal research labs in Colorado have a $1.11 billion annual economic impact on the state's economy, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business.
The 17 federal labs included in the study include major research centers such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden; The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), all based in Boulder; and the Centers for Disease Control facilities in Fort Collins.
Over 6,210 direct jobs are tied to the research labs, with 6,644 indirect jobs generated locally. The study also estimated that $222 million in construction activity is underway at the research centers.
The study was commissioned by CO-LABS
, a statewide coalition of scientific laboratories, higher education institutions, private industry, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, and state leaders. The Metro Denver EDC is a member of the CO-LABS board of directors.
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