During this first quarter of 2022, the Department will continue to pursue initiatives that achieve its mission to improve health care access, equity and affordability for the one in four Coloradans we cover while delivering value to all Coloradans.

Our 2022 legislative agenda is a great example. It proposes to:

In addition to our legislative agenda, the Department has been actively engaged at every level of the Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force to determine how

to best invest the $450 million in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding

to improve access, equity and the delivery of behavioral health care services across Colorado. Comprised of legislators, executive branch representatives and diverse behavioral health practitioners and experts, the Task Force came to unanimous consensus on all funding recommendations and allocations, now available in the

Jan. 31 recommendations report. Look for legislation this session that turns these recommendations into action.

Also on the behavioral health front, and to achieve our goal of increasing access to behavioral health providers serving Health First Colorado members, we released a mailing in collaboration with the Department of Regulatory Affairs encouraging behavioral health providers to join our network. Behavioral health providers not currently in our network are invited to visit our Provider Enrollment website for more information on how to enroll. As well, the Department is continuing its work on four workstreams to improve the performance, accountability and partnership with the state’s Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), which are a pillar within our behavioral health safety net system. This includes modernizing our cost reports and our payment models, implementing universal contracts that hold the Department and the CMHCs more accountable, and reducing administrative burden.

In addition to modernizing our CMHC payment models, our fiscal year 2022-2023 budget proposes broader, meaningful investments into value-based payments (R-6), which enable us to better reward value in care delivery – like closing disparities, enhancing member health or improving affordability. We look forward to partnering with and rewarding providers who help achieve shared goals to the betterment of the Coloradans we jointly serve.

On Jan. 27, we presented to the House and Senate Committees of Reference at the Department’s SMART Act hearing, including an overview of environmental challenges and opportunities, priorities, regulatory and legislative agendas, and budget requests. We also invite you to review our annual report to hear directly from our members and to learn more about the Department.

On behalf of our passionate Department staff and leadership, we thank you for your partnership in delivering improved health care access, equity and affordability to Health First Colorado and to all Coloradans.

Effective Dec. 23, 2021, the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department)

suspended new enrollments into InnovAge Colorado’s PACE program following numerous

regulatory violations and non-compliance with the Department’s provider contract. The

moratorium on new enrollments will remain in effect until InnovAge Colorado completes

a Corrective Action Plan to the satisfaction of the Department and the Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

For more information visit the PACE webpage.

The Department's annual report is now available. This report illustrates the many ways we serve Coloradans and includes videos in our members’ own words. We invite you to review it and celebrate all that we accomplished together this past year.  

Dear Community Partner,

Connect for Health Colorado is offering a Special Enrollment Period now through March 16 to those who have been impacted by the Marshall Fire or the current surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Free, virtual and in-person help signing up is available from our certified Connect for Health Colorado enrollment experts located throughout the state. If anyone in the community you assist needs help, you can refer them to one of our experts to ensure they get the right health insurance coverage and financial help. Visit https://connectforhealthco.com/enrollment-center/ to find assistance in your area.

Thank you for being a great partner and helping keep Colorado covered. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time for anything at jsmith@c4hco.com.

In Kindness,

Jess Smith, MSW

A new renewal process for all Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) members will be implemented in March 2022. The new renewal process consists of several steps and includes new renewal packets a member may receive, and will be required to sign and return for the renewal process to be considered complete.

The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing is providing training to review

CBMS and policy changes for medical assistance renewals. Attendees will learn about

the new renewal process, including the redesigned renewal packets, and how the CBMS project, in the February 2022 build, will update Medical Assistance renewal logic to determine a member’s eligibility.

There will be three live virtual sessions for eligibility sites to attend. There will also be

web-based training (WBT) available for those attendees who cannot attend a live

session or prefer taking an online session.

Eligibility Workers, supervisors and anyone who has direct member contact is required

to take the Renewal Revamp project training (either virtual and/or a WBT session). Please register in COLearn to receive the online details for the virtual sessions and WBT.

Feb. 14, 2022 – March 31, 2022

If you need additional information or have questions regarding the training please contact the Eligibility Inbox.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused behavioral health challenges for Americans of all ages and backgrounds,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “This investment is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address the inequities that still exist surrounding behavioral health and advance care in rural America. It will support comprehensive behavioral health prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery interventions in rural communities—furthering the goals of our new overdose prevention strategy.”

HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy will make awards through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)—Behavioral Health Care Support. Eligible applicants include entities such as Rural Health Clinics, federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations.

Applicants can begin the RCORP-Behavioral Health Care Support application process on Grants.gov and must apply by Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at 11:59 PM, ET. Visit the Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information.

For more information about efforts to address barriers to treatment for substance use disorder in rural areas, visit HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.

To learn about the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy, visit https://www.hhs.gov/overdose-prevention/.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to improving health outcomes and promoting health equity in rural America. In 2021, thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Department of Health and Human Services has invested over $16 billion to strengthen rural health. Read the Fact Sheet on HHS Investments to Strengthen Rural Health.

HCPF submitted a budget request (R-8) for FY 2022-23 that attempts to address county and state concerns regarding funding and oversight. Please see this presentation and the FY 2022-23 Budget Agenda Summary for more information.

We anticipate the newsletter to launch later this fall/winter and to be sent out monthly. In the meantime, please visit and bookmark the ARPA webpage for all the latest information and updates.  

Sign up for the ARPA Project Pulse Newsletter now! 

All provider enrollments as a Case Management Agency must be revalidated every five years, even though they are non-billing providers. They will be notified by mail about the revalidation application.

County fact sheets provide an annual snapshot by fiscal year of Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid Program) activity including average annual caseload and top five claim types for each county.

All Memos and their attachments are on the Memo Series website.

This letter is meant to advise counties and eligibility sites of the 2022 Social Security

Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA). Please share this memo with all affected Adult and

Long-Term Care Medicaid eligibility staff, supervisors, and outside agencies, as

appropriate.

The purpose of this memo is to inform authorized individuals/entities, such as county

departments of social/human services, Medical Assistance (MA) sites, Eligibility

Application Partner (EAP) sites, and anyone who processes Medical Assistance eligibility

applications of the new rules regarding Afghan Humanitarian Parolees.

The purpose of this Operational Memo is to communicate additional guidance regarding

funding and staffing from the Budget Amendment 10 (BA-10). BA-10 provided

additional, term-limited funding to counties to manage the workload associated with the continuous coverage provisions relating to the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE).

The purpose of this Informational Memo is to provide county Department of Human

Service (DHS) agencies an update from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy

& Financing (Department) regarding the transition of the Single Entry Point (SEP)

agency for Rio Grande and Mineral Counties and information regarding the new agency

that will be providing SEP services.