County Connections Newsletter
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This newsletter is designed for the Department to inform county directors, management and staff about county performance, policy changes, process updates, upcoming due dates, and more.
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High-Impact Policy and Process Updates
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CBMS Transformation Update
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CBMS Transformation Phase II Regional Meetings Postponed
The CBMS Transformation Phase II Regional meetings scheduled for the remainder of January (14-25) are postponed due to the increase to county SNAP workloads caused by the Government Shutdown.
The meetings will be rescheduled in early February. The Change Agents will reach out to the counties to determine what dates work best to reschedule the meetings. A communication will be sent out with the new CBMS Transformation Phase II Regional Meeting dates/times once they are finalized.
Below is a list of the
postponed
Phase II Regional Meetings:
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Medicaid Trusts and Estate Recovery Training
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This presentation will provide an overview of:
- Types of trusts that a Medicaid applicant or client may submit to an eligibility site
- Why individuals use trusts
- How Medicaid views trusts
- The County’s role in implementing the trust determination as it relates to an individual’s eligibility
- How to submit those trusts to the State for review
- Trust closures, estate recovery, overpayments, casualty cases, and cost avoidance
This will also include an overview on when and how to close trusts, who is impacted by estate recovery, what assets are typically collected by the Department at death, etc. and may also cover other types of recoveries.
This instructor-led training will be developed into a WBT and will be available in CO.Learn
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Children’s Habilitation Residential Program (CHRP): House Bill 18-1328, authorized the Department to:
- Remove the requirement that the child be involved in the child-welfare system.
- Transfer the administration of the CHRP waiver from the CDHS to the Department.
- Transfer the case management from child-welfare agencies to Case Management Agencies (specifically Community Centered Boards-CCBs).
- Add two services to the waiver to mitigate the need for an out of home placement and facilitate returns to the home once stabilized.
As of July 1
st
, 2018, selection into the CHRP waiver will include; children under the age of 21, who have a determination of developmental disability by a Community Centered Board who also have complex behavioral support needs which put the child or youth at-risk for, or in need of, out-of-home placement.
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The Department will engage stakeholders in a discussion about the assessment tool that will be used to determine the support need level for HCBS-CHRP waiver participants.
Meeting Details:
Date:
January 22, 2019
Time
: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location:
The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
303 E. 17th Ave, 7th floor, Conference Room 7B
Denver, CO 80203
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HCPF 2017-18 Annual Report Now Available
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Please take a look at the annual report to see a summary of the year’s progress on programs, delivery system, values, and future plans. You can find the annual report and several other infographics and one-pagers on the
Department’s Publications page
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HCPF Department Updates - Informational
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January 2019 Medical Renewals: System Update Affects Verification Checklists
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The verification checklists for January 2019 medical assistance renewals were not sent to Health First Colorado members in December due to a problem with a system update. These verification checklists request eligibility information and documentation.
We identified the impacted cases. Each case falls into
one
of these two groups:
Group 1:
These are cases already updated in PEAK or through an eligibility worker. The system is allowing these cases to renew normally in January 2019 with the appropriate eligibility determination.
Group 2:
These are cases that have
not
been updated in PEAK or through an eligibility worker. New renewal packets have been sent to this group with a special cover letter explaining that they are receiving a new renewal packet with a new due date of February 2019.
This new due date should give enough time to receive and respond to a new verification checklist. If the renewal is approved, the renewal date will go back to its original month of January, or to the appropriate month if there is a guaranteed category (such as pregnancy).
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IRS Form 1095-B in the Mail to Health First Colorado and CHP+ Members
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The Department began mailing 1095-B tax forms to nearly all Health First Colorado and all CHP+ members on January 10, 2018 through January 25, 2018.
IRS Tax Form 1095-B is a federal tax document that includes information about the months during 2018 in which Health First Colorado and CHP+ members were enrolled in qualifying health coverage.
Members are not required to include the 1095-B form with their tax return, but they should keep it with their tax records to verify coverage.
The Department will begin mailing corrected 1095-B forms, as needed, in February 2019.
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Statewide Business Process Re-engineering Project
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The Department has selected a vendor to work statewide with counties and Medical Assistance (MA) Sites on BPR/Lean principles. The Department’s Performance Improvement Team (PIT) will manage this project.
- What: Assistance to eligibility sites (Counties and MA Sites) for the development of
standardized, efficient and effective work processes to improve work quality through
innovative business process methods.
- Why: To support eligibility sites in maintaining and/or improving timeliness, backlog, and eligibility determination accuracy.
- When: Project will begin the first quarter of 2019 through June 2020
- Who: All eligibility sites invited to participate in BPR learning sessions or participate
as a model site.
- How: Facilitated learning sessions and the opportunity for eligibility sites to participate as model sites.
What is a Learning Session?
- A learning session is an event co-facilitated by the vendor and Department for eligibility sites to learn about process improvement methods, BPR, Lean, and other topics related to accurate and timely MA eligibility determinations.
- There will be a series of 4 learning sessions in each of the 6 Colorado regions (Metro Area, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, San Luis Valley, Southwest). Specific locations to be determined.
- All eligibility sites are invited and the Department highly encourages all eligibility sites to attend each learning session held in their region.
- If you have concerns about your ability to attend, please contact us via email below.
What is a Model Site?
- A model site is a small or medium sized county or an MA-Site that volunteers to work directly with the vendor for the length of the project.
- The vendor and Department will go to each model site three times throughout the BPR Project with each visit lasting no more than three days.
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to volunteer as a model site or learning session host please contact us:
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Updates from Medical Eligibility Quality Improvement Program (MEQIP)
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The Department would like to introduce Kelly Zavaleta as the new Medical Eligibility Quality Improvement Specialist overseeing Medical Eligibility Quality Improvement Plan (MEQIP).
The Department is currently updating its MEQIP framework and usability. With updates to the MEQIP process, we will be able to obtain usable data for quality and performance improvement of eligibility determinations.
We will be randomly selecting and reaching out to counties and MA sites to participate in a testing phase of the updated process.
Information regarding dates, times, and locations to come.
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Policy Memos
–
Operational Memos –
OM 18-028
Notice of Action (803) and Recipient Appeals
OM 19-001
Over Cost Containment Submission Process Through eQHealth eQSuite
Informational Memos –
IM 18-058
Updates and Resources for the Inpatient Hospital Review Program
IM 18-059
HCBS Settings Final Rule - Rights Modification Training Announcement
IM 18-060
Home Accessibility Adaptations Stakeholder Meeting
IM 19-002
Colorado Choice Transition Services Stakeholder Update
IM 19-003
Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Program Post Payment Reviews
IM 19-004
HCBS Children's Extensive Support Waiver Stakeholder Engagement
IM 19-005
Non-Medical Transportation Stakeholder Meeting
IM 19-006
HIPAA and PASRR Evaluation and Determinations
IM 19-008
Implementation of House Bill 18-1407, Stabilization of Direct Support Professional Workforce Stakeholder Engagement
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Public Rule Review Meeting
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Public Rule Review meetings
are an opportunity for stakeholders to have one on one conversation with the Department's rule author regarding draft rules.
Public Rule Review meetings happen on the second Monday after the second Friday of each month. Stakeholders can attend in person or can e-mail feedback to the rule author before the rule goes to the Medical Services Board.
This does not take the place of public testimony at the Medical Services Board meeting and anyone who wishes is invited to come to the MSB meeting to address the Board directly. The next scheduled meeting of the MSB is Friday, November 9 at 9:00 a.m. in the 11
th
floor conference room at 303 East 17
th
Avenue.
You can access information about the Public Rule Review Meeting by visiting our
web site
.
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County Grant & County Incentives Programs
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Exemption Requests
for the Timelines & Backlog Incentive and LTSS Incentive are due to the County Team on
January 22, 2019.
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Save the date!
The County Grant Program's Year End Report Out will take place on
May 29 and 30, 2019.
All grantees are required to attend, though other counties can visit and watch grantees' presentations.
Is your county considering applying for a grant in FY 2019-20?
Come to the Year End Report Out or take a look at previously funded grant projects on the
County Admin page
!
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Timeliness for December 2018
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Timeliness for all Medical Assistance
applications
was measured at
96.80 percent
. The Department and its county partners have registered 53 consecutive months above 95 percent timeliness.
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Timeliness for all Medical Assistance
redeterminations
was measured at
98.35 percent
. The Department and its county partners have registered 33 consecutive months above 95 percent timeliness.
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Connect for Health Colorado
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Applying for APTC via Paper Application
Clients who use a State paper application will still be evaluated for financial help from Connect for Health Colorado. If a client brings in a filled out paper application or fills it out in the county office, the county worker will enter the information from the paper application into PEAK/CBMS, like they do today. The customer will be evaluated and get a Health First Colorado or CHP+ approval OR CBMS will show the client’s preliminary APTC status as pass or fail.
If the client shows a preliminary pass for APTC, they will be referred to Connect for Health Colorado per current process.
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Open Enrollment Materials
Official Open Enrollment Dates for 2019 are November 1, 2018 - January 15, 2019.
Users will create an account and then can choose materials such as brochures, posters, and application checklists.
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Department Contacts & Resources
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The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing complies with applicable federal and state civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic or national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, creed, political beliefs, or disability.
Learn more about our Nondiscrimination Policy
.
ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-800-221-3943 (State Relay: 711).
CHÚ Ý: Nếu bạn nói Tiếng Việt, có các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ miễn phí dành cho bạn. Gọi số 1-800-221-3943 (State Relay: 711).
For further information about this policy, to request free disability and/or language aids and services, or to file a discrimination complaint, contact:
504/ADA Coordinator
1570 Grant St
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303-866-6010, Fax: 303-866-2828, State Relay: 711
Civil rights complaints can also be filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights electronically through the
Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal
or by mail, phone, or fax at:
1961 Stout Street Room 08-148
Denver, CO 80294
Telephone: 800-368-1019, Fax: 202-619-3818, TDD: 800-537-7697
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Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing
(303) 866-2993 | 1570 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203
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