A survey of Colorado primary care doctors found most are reluctant to take a new patient on basic Medicare, the government health insurance for people 65 and over. Studies have shown that people are healthier when they have a "medical home" like a primary care doctor, so this reluctance to accept basic Medicare can have a major effect on the health of many of the roughly 450,000 Coloradans using it for their insurance. It comes on top of Colorado's general shortage of primary care doctors for all patients of all ages.