In place of the Policy Advisory Council (PAC) update, the county team is using a newsletter in the style of County Connections to communicate critical information.
The content is designed for county human services directors and leadership.
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Letter from the Executive Director
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Investing in Transformation
The Governor’s fiscal year 2022-23 Budget released Nov. 1 totals $40 billion with a $36.5 billion operating budget. HCPF’s operating budget represents $13.5 billion or 37% of that, while our $4 billion general fund budget request represents 30% of the state's general fund budget. The Governor’s balanced budget is prudent and fiscally responsible, doubles down on the Governor's commitment to saving Coloradans money, ensures workers can earn a living wage, and puts more money back in Coloradans’ paychecks. It combines fiscal responsibility with a historic opportunity to leverage one-time funding for health care and behavioral health system transformation thanks to federal COVID-19 relief funds and state investments in stimulating the economy. HCPF’s leadership has been participating in the many discussions about what those historic, transformational investments could look like: more than $500 million in long-term American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) transformational investments for people with disabilities through our home and community-based services (HCBS) spending plan and an estimated $450 million in ARPA dollars to drive behavioral health transformation in concert with the Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force. This important work is concurrent to the Nov. 1 release of the Behavioral Health Administration plan, which includes $3 million to invest in initiatives at the General Assembly’s direction.
HCPF’s $4 billion general fund budget represents an increase of $343.4 million general fund over the baseline. The vast majority of this increase is to account for the expiration of the 6.2% federal match enhancement in the 2022-23 fiscal year at the same time we are increasing provider rates. HCPF’s other discretionary requests are, in aggregate, budget negative—reducing expenditure by $40.5 million total funds, $4.8 million general fund. While HCPF’s budget is comprehensive, we call out below some of the budget requests that enhance value-based payments, which pay Medicaid providers for value and performance versus just volume; increased county resources; and provider rate increases:
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R-6 Value Based Payments focuses on incentivizing affordable, higher quality and more equitable care. Currently, HCPF pays most providers for services delivered on a fee-for-service basis. The General Assembly has authorized HCPF - and CMS is strongly encouraging HCPF - to establish programs to pay for “care value” as opposed to just “care volume.” This budget request would support maternity bundled payments; primary care provider partial capitation models; model development to further improve outcomes and affordability across specialty care; and financial incentives to providers using the Prescriber Tool.
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R-8 County Administration, Oversight & Accountability provides increased support to our county partners for important administrative-related activities, including improved customer service, member eligibility and enrollment, quality improvement and meeting new administrative requirements. In addition, the request includes additional pay-for-performance funding through the County Incentives Program for counties to earn if they meet new and/or additional performance benchmarks and deliverables.
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R-11 Provider Rate Adjustments includes funding to address Medicaid Provider Rate Review Advisory Committee recommendations to increase and rebalance rates for specific providers while including a 0.5% across-the-board rate adjustment for all other providers. This request also furthers the Jan. 1, 2022, plan put forward by the Polis-Primavera administration and HCPF that creates a minimum $15/hour wage for direct care workers in home and community-based settings funded through Medicaid as part of our HCBS ARPA spending plan.
On Oct. 28, the Colorado Health Institute released the 2021 Colorado Health Access Survey report, which indicated that the state’s uninsured rate remained steady at 6.6% despite the historic economic downturn. Medicaid state and federal policies were significant contributors to that outstanding result. Conversely, this underscores the critical need for all of us to continue to work together through the end of the public health emergency (PHE) to help Coloradans stay covered as the continuous coverage provisions of the PHE come to an end. |
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American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Update |
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The Department has started to implement a multitude of projects to expand, enhance, and strengthen the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) system tied to federal ARPA funding. The Department will be issuing quarterly reports on progress to both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Colorado Joint Budget Committee (JBC), the first of which have been posted to the HCPF ARPA webpage.
Later this fall or early winter, a monthly newsletter dedicated to ARPA projects will launch and serve as a source for key updates on all project planning and implementation, stakeholder engagement opportunities, and other topics of interest related to the funding. Please take a moment to sign up for the ARPA Project Pulse Newsletter now! |
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Reproductive Health Care Program Update |
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Senate Bill 21-009, Reproductive Health Care Program, requires the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing to cover access to family planning for people with undocumented status. The Department is working on implementing this bill, but there will be a short delay because of the Department’s COVID-19 public health emergency responsibilities.
The original timeline for full implementation was January 2022. Because of the delay, we expect the bill to be fully implemented by July 2022.
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Connect for Health Open Enrollment |
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Dear Community Partner,
The ninth Open Enrollment Period began on Monday, Nov. 1! This time last year, as I was writing the Open Enrollment edition of my newsletter, my condo was buried in a foot of snow amid a global pandemic. Flash forward one year—and here I am, vaccinated to fight that global pandemic, and writing this after taking my dog for a walk in
55-degree, sunny weather. What a difference a year can make!
With the continuation of the public health emergency, and the cold and flu seasons at our doorsteps, it’s more important than ever to make sure all Coloradans have access to affordable health insurance. This year’s Open Enrollment period began on Nov. 1, 2021 and ends on Jan. 15, 2022. And thanks to the American Rescue Plan, there are more savings for more people than ever before. Folks can see how much financial help they qualify for and review plans before enrolling by using our Quick Cost Plan Finder Tool.
Here are some helpful reminders and tools for you
- For the Online Toolkit, we’ve made our materials web-friendly by making them easily readable on a screen and interactive with our website. Be sure to download the materials, they are not interactive from the basic preview mode.
- For the Online Store, simply create a login and shop away for materials such as posters, flyers, and brochures at no cost.
- Free, virtual, and in-person help is available from our certified Connect for Health Colorado enrollment experts located throughout the state. If anyone in the community you serve needs help, you can refer them to one of our experts to ensure they get the right health insurance coverage and financial help. Visit connectforhealthco.com/we-can-help/ to find assistance in your area.
- Connect for Health Colorado is sponsoring and attending virtual and in-person events and providing virtual and in-person presentations to those who will benefit from being informed about health insurance resources. Please contact me if you are interested!
Thank you for being a great partner and helping keep Colorado covered. I look forward to another successful Open Enrollment Period with you!
In Kindness,
Jess Smith, MSW
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Help Us Get the Word Out!
Higher Education Information for
Health First Colorado and CHP+ Members
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Did you know Health First Colorado and CHP+ members may qualify to get free money to complete their degree? Members can keep their coverage even if they receive grants, scholarships or work study placements. Money received for education does not count as income.
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Emergency Medicaid Eligibility Criteria and Updates |
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This memo outlines the eligibility criteria for Emergency Medicaid provided through Health First Colorado and new updates.
Applicants will no longer need to obtain and submit a written physician statement certifying the presence of an emergency medical condition in order for their application to be complete and processed. Due to the removal of this requirement, applicants are being encouraged to write “Emergency Medicaid” on the top of the application or indicate this in some other way. CBMS has been updated to no longer require a physician statement from applicants.
Resources
Questions regarding this communication may be directed to
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Recent Memo Series Issued to Counties |
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Department Contacts & Resources
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