June 29, 2022
The Office of Community Living (OCL) within the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department) has the following information to share below:

Announcements:

  • Direct Care Workforce Collaborative Proposed Standardized Core Curriculum American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Project

  • Non-Medical Transportation (NMT) Service Rate Increase: Posted Rates are Correct

Memos:

  • Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver Amendments and Renewals Approval from the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

  • Monitoring Requirement Reminder

  • Required Benefits Utilization System (BUS) Upgrade

  • 2022 Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA)

  • REVISED ATTACHMENT - Case Management Operational Changes in response to COVIDS-19; In-Person Meetings

Meetings:

  • Community First Choice (CFC) Council Meeting & Additional Meeting

  • Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Listening Session

  • Transitions Stakeholder Advisory Council
Announcements

Direct Care Workforce Collaborative -
Discussion of Proposed Standardized Core Curriculum ARPA Project

The Direct Care Workforce Collaborative's Training & Career Advancement Action Group is welcoming representatives from the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs to discuss the Standardized Core Curriculum ARPA project at their upcoming meeting on Friday, July 1 from 9-10 a.m. Interested stakeholders should plan on attending this meeting to provide feedback and learn more about the proposed curriculum.

For more information, please check out the Direct Care Workforce Collaborative page. Please look for additional ARPA project feedback/input opportunities on this page in the near future.

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Non-Medical Transportation (NMT) Service Rate Increase:
Posted Rates are Correct
The Department has received several questions about the recently published rates for the Non-Medical Transportation (NMT) service in the Home and Community-Based Services Developmental Disabilities (HCBS-DD) and Supported Living Services (HCBS-SLS) waivers. The Department would like to clarify that all posted rates are correct.

The targeted rate increase to three specific NMT procedure codes, and the 2% across-the-board increase to all other NMT procedure codes, are effective as of July 1, 2022. The 2022-2023 rate schedule is here.
Memos

Please find new memos and related documents listed below. These memos and documents are also on the Department's 2022 Memo Series Communication webpage. Viewing the Memo Series webpage will show other memos of interest.


  • Informational Memo - Monitoring Requirement Reminder (June 24, 2022) : The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform case managers, service providers, and stakeholders of the compliance monitoring requirements in the Developmental Disabilities (DD), Supported Living Services (SLS), and Children’s Extensive Support (CES) HCBS waivers.

  • Informational Memo - Required BUS Upgrade (June 24, 2022) : The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform Case Management Agencies (CMAs) of a required BUS upgrade for system security and stability, as well as providing information about the removal of the Service Plan from the BUS. The upgraded BUS will be accessible via a new URL.



Meetings
 
Please find meeting announcements listed below. Other meeting information is on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement webpage.

Community First Choice (CFC) Council Meeting

The CFC Council collaborates with and advises the Department on the design and implementation of a CFC option in Colorado. The CFC Council consists primarily of individuals with disabilities, those 65 years or older, and their representatives to help ensure CFC is implemented in a way that best meets the needs of Coloradans with disabilities.

All interested stakeholders are welcome. CFC Council meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., through May 2023. These meetings are open to the public.

We will continue discussing CFC services for the upcoming council meetings and to ensure there is enough time to discuss these important topics, we have created an additional meeting for July and split the meetings up into two different sessions.

Next Meetings:

Wednesday, July 6, 2022
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT
Meeting Focus: Services Discussion

&

Additional Meeting
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT
Meeting Focus: In-Home Support Services (IHSS) and Health Maintenance Discussion


Join by Phone:
1-260-230-1249, PIN: 719 313 221#

Meeting information will be posted on the Community First Choice Stakeholder Opportunities webpage.

Prior Meeting Materials:


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EVV Listening Session
 
EVV listening sessions are bi-monthly informal opportunities for stakeholders to bring questions to the Department about EVV implementation. No new policy or technical processes will be announced in these listening sessions. New information will be discussed in the general stakeholder meeting and published on the EVV Stakeholder Workgroup webpage.
 
Please email the EVV team to have a calendar invitation sent for this ongoing session.
For more information, see the EVV Stakeholder Workgroup webpage.
 
The next meeting will be held:
Thursday, July 7, 2022
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT
 
 
Join by Phone:
1-208-715-5308, PIN: ‪438 295 119 #

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Transitions Stakeholder Advisory Council
 
The primary function of this council is to provide guidance and recommendations regarding operational policy and procedural changes to the Transition Services Program and to create solutions to streamline community transitions. The council will analyze barriers to transitions and provide recommendations for improved practices. All interested stakeholders are welcome.
 
The meeting topic for July is Reviewing Stakeholders Feedback.
 
 
The next meeting will be held:
Thursday, July 7, 2022
2:30-4:30 p.m. MT
 
 
Join by Phone:
1-347-480-3624, PIN: 515646803 #

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Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request for persons with disabilities. Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and language services for individuals whose first language is not English may be provided upon request. Please notify John Barry at 303-866-3173 or John.R.Barry@state.co.us or the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.
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