In place of the Policy Advisory Council (PAC) update and regional directors' meetings updates, 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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Message from the Executive Director
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This month, I would like to address what the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department) is doing to support our providers, partners and fellow Coloradans during this unprecedented public health crisis.
We serve more than 1.2 million Coloradans through Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid program), Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and other health care programs. With the advent of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, our Department is being called upon to serve more Coloradans than ever before.
Although we have seen dramatic increases in our member numbers before -- especially when we expanded Health First Colorado under the Affordable Care Act -- we have never experienced a projected membership increase of this magnitude in such a short span of time. To adapt, we are implementing numerous system and policy changes under challenging time constraints and appreciate your partnership through this time of dynamic change:
- As a first step, we moved in lock step with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and federal guidance to reduce exposure for our most vulnerable -- those in long-term care facilities and other populations who are more susceptible to COVID-19 -- through a number of provider care directives.
- We have taken steps to reduce administrative burden on providers through requests for program flexibility from our federal partners.
- We've asked our county partners and all vendors to activate their continuity of operations plans -- including work from home capability -- to ensure they can answer the phones and serve our members during the state of emergency.
- We have reduced face-to-face engagement requirements where clinically appropriate and enabled telemedicine as an alternative. And we've enacted temporary enhancements to our telemedicine policy to improve overall access to care for our members to further mitigate the spread of the virus.
We are working with our federal partners to secure approval on other accommodations; however, we will need to balance budget constraints with all options before finalizing such decisions. In the interim, you can find up to date information and details on our new webpage:
Colorado.gov/hcpf/covid
.
Thank you to all of you who are on the front lines battling this pandemic to the betterment of our members and all Coloradans. To our county partners, care providers, first responders, sister agencies, HCPF staff and to all of you --- words are inadequate to sufficiently express my sincere appreciation for all you are doing each day to save lives, to keep Coloradans safe, and to create access to the HCPF safety net programs and supports that are needed by so many during this state of emergency.
Kim Bimestefer
Executive Director
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Continuous Eligibility In Response to COVID-19
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Members will not lose their Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP +) benefits for any action taken on or after March 18,2020. All members who were scheduled to discontinue on March 31,2020, will be rescinded.
Members who were scheduled to be discontinued effective 3/31/2020 due to action taken on 3/18/20 or 3/19/20 or 3/20/2020 or 3/21/2020 will be rescinded and issued a
Speed Letter
notifying them that they will not be losing their Medicaid or CHP+ benefits. Members will be informed that they will remain open and active until the end of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.
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COVID-19 Special Enrollment Period for
Health Insurance Extended to April 30
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The COVID-19 Special Enrollment Period for individual health insurance will be extended to run through April 30, 2020. The original period that was
announced on March 19
was set to end on Friday, April 3. The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), has worked with
Connect for Health Colorado
to add nearly a month more for Coloradans who are currently uninsured to get health coverage.
For anyone enrolling after April 3, their health insurance will become effective May 1.
“We want to do everything we can to ensure Coloradans have the resources they need during this difficult time,” said Gov. Jared Polis. “As this pandemic continues, we know that having health insurance will be critical, which is why we are extending this enrollment period. Everyday my administration is evaluating what steps we can take to minimize the health impact and economic impact of this crisis.”
“I’m pleased that our team, and the folks at Connect for Health Colorado, have worked to make this happen,” said Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway. “I urge everyone that doesn’t have insurance to work with Connect for Health Colorado to determine what insurance plans are available to them and to see if they qualify for financial assistance.”
Only people who are currently uninsured are eligible to enroll, as this is not a period for people with coverage to change plans. Uninsured spouses and children will also be allowed to enroll at this time, even if one spouse or a child’s parent may already be insured.
All individual insurance plans (meaning plans NOT from an employer) are available. People enrolling during this period only have to verbally attest that they are currently uninsured, and the insurance companies cannot require further proof of being uninsured.
Colorado consumers are encouraged to enroll through our state’s exchange,
Connect for Health Colorado
. Financial assistance for those who qualify is only available when enrolling through Connect for Health Colorado. Contact Connect at 855-752-6749 or find in-person assistance through their statewide network of certified experts at
connectforhealthco.com/person-help
, including appointments with a broker or assister by phone. In addition, Connect for Health offers tools such as the
Quick Cost & Plan Finder
that can help check eligibility for financial assistance while finding plans that fit consumers’
needs.
Coloradans who lose their job, or who may lose their job in the coming weeks, and thus lose their employer-based health insurance, are reminded that loss of such coverage allows them a 60-day window to enroll in individual coverage, whenever that might happen throughout the year. See Connect for Health Colorado’s
“When can I buy insurance?” page
for details.
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County Grant & County Incentives Programs
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Eligibility Performance Incentive
Training Incentive
Feb. 28 email to Directors and Secondary Directors:
- July 1, 2019 - February 25, 2020 Eligible Trainings Completed
- County Users with CBMS MA Update Access - January 2020
Food Security Incentive
New baseline for Food Security Incentive
Cyber Security Incentive
Deliverable due July 5, 2020.
Follow the
Operational Memo
to determine which deliverable is correct for your county.
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Competitive Grants
The Year End Report Out has been moved from May into June - more information from the County Team coming soon!
Targeted Grants
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Staff Development Center HCPF Waivers Webinar
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The Staff Development Center (SDC) and Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) teams will be facilitating a daily training webinar starting tomorrow, Friday, April 3, through next Tuesday, April 7. These webinars will be recorded, and one full webinar recording will be posted to the SDCs learning management system,
CoLearn
, next week.
This webinar will walk our eligibility site partners through the recently announced waivers for Medical Assistance cases and what processes to follow/steps to take to implement the waivers correctly.
Webinar Schedule
:
- Friday, April 3: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 6: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 7: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Please use the below Google Hangouts Meeting details to join the webinars. The link and call in number will be the same for each day.
+1 432-756-7080 PIN: 214 255 398#
Once logged in, your facilitators will instruct you to type your name, email address, and agency in the chat pod, so your COLearn transcript can be manually updated to give you credit for attending this important HCPF training webinar.
If you need additional information or have questions regarding this email, please contact the
Staff Development Center
.
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Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT)
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NEMT will continue to operate as normal, although due to the Governor issuing a statewide Stay at Home order, members should only be traveling for essential medical appointments. Please continue to schedule rides using the normal processes.
At this time, there are no policy changes to limit, or discontinue NEMT services.
The option for “multiloading” more than one passenger has been removed during this time of encouraged social distancing.
All Members should be calling their provider, prior to scheduling any appointment as facilities may advise them to not come in person if they are having symptoms of COVID-19.
If Members are having symptoms they would consider life threatening, they should call 911, as NEMT is for scenarios that are Non-Emergent.
It is strongly suggested that transportation providers follow guidance set forth by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Enhancing Children and Youth Behavioral Health
(High Fidelity Wraparound) Update
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The Department and the Office of Behavioral Health will jointly host the next SB19-195 stakeholder forums on the following dates. Please mark your calendars and join us! These will be virtual meetings with registration details to be announced shortly through this email list.
- Wednesday April 15, 2020 from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
- Monday May 18, 2020 from 2:30 p.m. -4 p.m.
The Department submitted a Concept Paper to CMS and has requested ongoing conversations to establish the best route for implementation of the high fidelity wraparound benefit. The Concept Paper is available for the public to
read online
.
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Go to your county’s snapshot to see updated rankings and new data for all the measures we track. Be on the lookout for new features, including:
- Updated data on the Leading Causes of Death – select the icon next to the “Premature death” measure in your snapshot to see updated values.
- Easy-to-find demographic breakdowns – for selected measures (such as Diabetes monitoring, Mammography screening, Children in poverty, Median household income, and Driving alone to work, and more), click on the county value for the measure to see a breakdown by racial/ethnic groups.
- New trend graphs for our Uninsured measures – we’ve added graphs that show you changes over time for our Additional Clinical Care Measures; see those in your county’s Snapshot.
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Hospital Transformation Program (HTP) Update
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HTP application materials
A new section has been added to the
HTP website
in the drop-down list titled "Hospital Transformation Program Application Documents." This section contains the below documents pertaining to the HTP hospital application process:
- Hospital application.
- Application background and instructions.
- Application Review Criteria.
- Intervention proposal.
- Letter of Partnership template.
- Ongoing Community and Health Neighborhood Engagement Requirements.
Please reach out to the
Matt Haynes
, Special Finance Projects Manager, with any questions regarding these documents.
Update on federal authorities
As the federal comment period closed on Feb. 9 for the HTP 1115 demonstration waiver, the Department of Health Care Policy & Finance is engaged with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in discussion of each of those components and is working toward obtaining approval for all components in advance of the target implementation date of October 2020.
HTP Road Show training for hospitals
The HTP team would like to thank all those who attended in-person HTP Road Shows that took place across the state over the month of March.
For additional information, we encourage stakeholders to visit
the HTP website
as well as read past editions of the HTP Newsletter in
our online archives
. If you have questions about the HTP, please contact
Courtney Ronner
, Hospital Relations and Communication Manager.
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Recent Memo Series Issued to Counties
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OM 20-028
The purpose of this memo is to advise County Departments of Human/Social services and Medical Assistance sites of income changes to the Health First Colorado Buy–In Medicaid Program for Children with Disabilities (CBwD). Please share this memo with anyone who works with this program
OM 20-027
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of temporary changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to signature requirements for member paperwork.
OM 20-025
The purpose of this operational memo is to advise county departments of human/social services and Medical Assistance sites of income changes to the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program for Working Adults with Disabilities (WAwD). Please share this information with anyone who works with this program.
OM 20-024
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Providers and Case Management Agencies of temporary changes in response to COVID-19 pandemic to Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver benefits and services offered through Health First Colorado.
OM 20-022
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of Critical Incident Reporting (CIR) changes to the Benefits Utilization System (BUS), outline case manager reporting, service coordination and monitoring requirements for COVID-19.
OM 20-021
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Providers and Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of the action required when a Home and Community Based Service provider agency temporarily closes operations.
OM 20-020
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform home and community-based services (HCBS) Therapy Service Providers and Case Management Agencies of temporary and optional changes to the provision of therapy services during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, there is a list of actions members and providers can take to help prevent COVID-19 from entering and spreading in a residence or provider setting. All recommendations in this document are based on guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
OM 20-019
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of temporary operational changes to case management requirements for members’ functional eligibility paperwork.
OM 20-018
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of temporary operational changes to case management requirements for face to face member contact and Assessment authorizations.
OM 20-017
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (the Department) is working in coordination with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to stop the spread of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). At this time, the Department strongly encourages providers to take emergency measures to screen members and consider restricting visitors at the following settings:
- Brain Injury Supportive Living Programs
- Day Habilitation
- Day Treatment
- Group Homes
- Adult Day Centers
- Residential and Inpatient Treatment
- Partial Hospitalization Program
- Day Treatment
- Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Centers.
OM 20-015
The purpose for this memo is to notify County Departments of Social/Human Services and Medical Assistance (MA) Site staff of the income guidelines for the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid program and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program effective April 1, 2020.
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IM 20-017
The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform home and community-based services (HCBS) Day Program Service Providers and Case Management Agencies of temporary and optional changes to the provision and reimbursement of day services during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, there are a list of actions members and providers can take to help prevent COVID-19 from entering and spreading in a residence or provider setting. All recommendations in this document are based on guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
IM 20-016
This document provides information on steps CDASS participants can take to manage their care and allocation during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. In addition, there are a list of actions members can take to help prevent COVID-19 from entering and spreading COVID-10 in your residence. All recommendations in this document are based on guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
IM 20-015
The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) stakeholders of temporary operational changes to the PASRR process. The PASRR process requires all applicants to Medicaid-certified Nursing Facilities be given a preliminary assessment (Level I) to determine whether they might have Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and/or Intellectual or Developmental Disability (IDD). Those individuals who test positive at Level I are then referred for a more in-depth evaluation (Level II). The result of the Level II evaluation provides a determination of need, most appropriate setting, and a set of recommendations for services to inform the individual’s care plan (42 CFR 483.100-138).
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Department Contacts & Resources
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Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing
(303) 866-2993 | 1570 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203
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