Volume 38, March 2020                                                                                                         
In This Issue
KEY DATES
Stakeholder Meeting

03/12/20
9 a.m. - 12 p.m .
1570 Grant St -  Hibiscus Conference Room
Denver, CO 80203

Quarterly Cost Report

04/01/20
January-March 2020 (JM20) Quarterly Financials open
 
04/07/20
Quarterly Financials Refresher Training
 
04/30/20
JM20 Quarterly Financials certifications due

Random Moment Time Study (RMTS)
 
03/05/20
April-June 2020 (AJ20) Staff Pool List (SPL) and calendar due
Links
Welcome to the March 2020 edition of the School Health Services Newsletter!

Our newsletter is a Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (the Department) publication which provides information on the School Health Services (SHS) Program. The Colorado SHS Program is administered by the Department in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Education. Providers participating in the program may receive federal matching funds for amounts spent in providing health services through the public schools to students who are receiving Medicaid benefits.

Please feel free to share SHS News with your colleagues .   
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Thank you for your interest!
Mid-Year Training Summary
This year's mid-year training was solely focused on Free Care. Districts and Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) received the latest news about revisions to the State Plan Amendment (SPA) and Time Study Implementation Guide (TSIG). Many districts/BOCES in attendance were well informed due to active stakeholder communication about ongoing Free Care program updates. For all the latest Free Care FAQs please visit the
Department's website.

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Stakeholder Meeting Updates
The stakeholders who attended the meeting in January received an update on the progress of Free Care program transformation. The Department had some notable updates pending the final approval of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). One of the most anticipated program changes has been the list of revised Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) questions. Listed below are two new questions (numbers 1 and 2) with two current questions re-ordered (numbers 3 and 4):
  1. Is the service you provided part of the child's medical plan of care where medical necessity has been otherwise established?
  2. Who were you working with during this sample moment?
  3. Describe in detail the activity you were performing during your sampled moment. Please answer this question even if you answered "No" to the previous questions.
  4. Describe in detail why you were doing this activity during your sampled moment.
Pending CMS approval, other significant updates include the addition of direct service job categories such as master's level Psychologist and Applied Behavior Analyst, the expansion of reimbursable services captured on other medical plans of care, the elimination of the Targeted Case Management cost pool, and the reduction of days participants will receive for advanced RMTS notifications as well as their moment response window.

Stakeholders were asked to focus on specific actions to help prepare for the expansion of services anticipated to be implemented in the October-December 2020 (OD20) quarter:
  • Identify other medical plans of care currently in use at your district
  • Identify other medical plans of care that may overlap with IEP/IFSP plans
  • Identify job categories for the providers rendering services to students with overlapping medical plans of care
  • Verify that other medical plans of care are SHS program compliant
  • Target train current time study participants in the job categories identified as having overlapping plans of care
  • Train time study participants on the new RMTS questions
The Department will be hosting an additional stakeholder meeting in March this year to help get the most updated Free Care information to districts/BOCES statewide.
Comprehensive Reviews
Participation in the Colorado SHS Program requires districts be subject to a periodic Comprehensive Review occuring at least once every three years. This review determines whether a district is maintaining the necessary financial records for all cost reporting and validates that staff included in the direct service cost pool are qualified health care professionals with appropriate licensure. Additionally, billing and transportation cost reporting are reviewed for accuracy.
 
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20 Comprehensive Reviews have been completed. Below are some important reminders related to the most common findings from the FY 2019-20 Comprehensive Reviews:
  • All direct medical other costs reported on the annual cost report must be used in the provision of a direct medical service.
  • Each provider is required to maintain valid licensure while on the direct service cost pool.
Procedure Code Updates
Two procedure codes for Mental/Behavioral Health Eval and Re-Eval, 96150 and 96151, are no longer in use for dates of services as of January 1, 2020. These codes have been replaced by a single code, 96156. Claims submitted under the old codes will not be denied, but will be suspended until all necessary information has been updated in our system. Once updated, the suspended claims will be processed.

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Re- Validation
The Affordable Care Act requires providers to complete re-validation every five years. Provider re-validation will begin this year. Providers will be given a 6-month advanced notice of their re-validation due date with further instructions. Please do not attempt to re-validate now. What you can do is ensure that your profile is up to date with three email addresses on file. For more information please go to: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/hcpf/revalidation
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Senate Bill 19-195
The Department would like to invite interested parties to engage in the stakeholder process for Senate Bill (SB) 19-195, Enhancing Children and Youth Behavioral Health Services.

What is SB19-195?

This bill requires the Department to:
  1. Implement high fidelity wraparound services for eligible children and youth who are enrolled in Medicaid and at risk of out-of-home placement or in an out-of-home placement.
  2. Design and recommend a child and youth integrated funding pilot program that addresses the challenges of fragmentation and duplication of behavioral health services.
  3. Participate in work led by the Colorado Department of Human Services to develop statewide screening tools, select a single standardized assessment tool, and develop a plan for establishing a single referral and entry point for children and youth in need of behavioral health services.
For more information, follow this link to access the full   legislative bill summary.
Ways to stay engaged
The Department seeks to engage a diverse array of stakeholders throughout this process. If you are interested in staying informed and giving feedback about enhancements to the children and youth behavioral health system, we encourage you to consider one of the below engagement methods:
  • Sign up for the SB19-195 email list to will receive monthly newsletter updates and notifications about stakeholder forums. To sign up for the email list, go to the Department website and select "Children and Youth Behavioral Health Systems Enhancements" from the available options.
  • Visit the Department's Enhancing Children and Youth Behavioral Health Services website to view monthly progress updates, submit questions, or register to attend the next stakeholder forum, which will be held on March 9, 2020 from 2 p. m.-3:30 pm.
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Colorado Department of Education Updates
Spring is a time for changes. Optimism about warmer, longer days, flowers and less shoveling is in the air. As you have heard, changes are coming to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) SHS Program as well. Jill has retired as of February 28, 2020, so please address your questions to Sarah Blumenthal at  303.866.6779.

CDE, the Department and the stakeholders are working with a program consultant to explore updates to the Annual Report to CDE and the Local Services Plan. One meeting has occurred and a second meeting will take place in March. We solicited feedback on improvements you would like to see, and these suggestions will be included in the process improvement meetings. The goals, as always, are to reduce the administrative burden for coordinators and to improve the data gathering processes. CDE and Department staff look forward to providing more information on the process as the year progresses.

Jill has had the honor of working with all of you over the eight years at CDE and wishes all of you the best in the years to come. It has been amazing to work with people who are so committed to the health and wellness of the students of Colorado. Thank you to all of you, to the Department, Public Consulting Group and to the leadership of CDE for years of support.
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Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing  
(303) 866-2993 | 1570 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203