Thank you for serving Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid program) and Child Health Plan  Plus  (CHP+) members.

The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (the Department) knows providers, case managers, and county and eligibility partners have many questions about the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on our programs. We are sharing updates on emergency policies, COVID-19 specific billing codes and other important information on our website at colorado.gov/hcpf/covid and through this and other newsletters.

The information in this newsletter provides a weekly summary of COVID-19 guidance for Health First Colorado and CHP+ providers, Regional Accountable Entities, case managers, counties and other eligibility partners. Some audiences may receive audience specific guidance through other Department newsletters; this newsletter is a roundup of all of those communications in one place.

Providers: Please sign up for general updates, including COVID-19 information, on the  Provider News webpage.

County and Eligibility Partners:  Please sign up  for County Connections and the HCPF Memo Series.

Statewide Resource :   OnwardCO  - One-stop resource for the people of Colorado impacted by job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For comprehensive public health information about COVID-19 in Colorado, refer to the  Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) website. This website includes information for the general public and  special resources for health care providers on patient evaluation, testing, personal protective equipment and many more topics. 

Provider Leader Resource Center: A  Provider Leader Resource Center  has been added to the Department COVID-19 website. This page contains content from prior and upcoming webinars for Provider Association Leaders and their members, as well as information for providers about member and provider recruitment. The Department is asking associations partner with us to recruit more health care providers to serve our more than 1.3 million current members and the more than 500,000 new members we expect to enroll by the end of this year. More information can be found on the  Here For You, Colorado page.

This year's unusual legislative session has come to an end, including the Governor’s signature on the Long Bill, which sets the State’s budget. I want to thank you for your partnership in adopting the difficult but necessary cuts to HCPF's budget during this unprecedented economic downturn. The impact of COVID-19 is causing an increase in demand for our safety net programs and a concurrent decrease in available state funds -- certainly a difficult reality to navigate. Cuts to the HCPF budget impacted member co-pays, provider reimbursement, some benefits and HCPF administration funding, as well.

 

Our members will see an increase in co-pays to the federal maximum on pharmacy, physician services, Federally Qualified Health Center visits, Regional Health Center visits, inpatient services, outpatient services, durable medical equipment, lab and x-ray, anesthesia, Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT) and dental services. Members currently exempt from co-pays will continue to be exempt from co-pays. At the same time, House Bill 20-1361 reduces the cap for the adult dental benefit from $1,500 to $1,000 per year for each recipient until December 2022. Both changes will be effective upon federal approval, but not before January 2021.

In addition, providers will see many changes resulting from budget considerations this legislative session. You can read our 2020-2021 HCPF Long Bill Overview and 2020 HCPF Legislative Session Wrap-Up for more details. We will communicate additional information on each item in coming months as changes are implemented.

Coloradans need our programs now more than ever, including the support and services you provide every day through your work and partnership with us. The Department anticipates a net membership surge of 300,000 to 500,000 Coloradans as the downturn causes Coloradans to lose their jobs and their associated employer-sponsored health coverage -- figures that could exceed the membership uptake fueled by the Accountable Care Act.

We also want to thank you for your partnership in communicating our Here For YOU, Colorado! campaign, which is intended to help keep Coloradans covered during this pandemic and economic downturn. Resources we created last quarter to provide easy-to-use materials for your own outreach campaign. Key messages cover Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) eligibility rules, benefits, how to apply, provider enrollment and more. Please help us spread the word! Visit CO.gov/HCPF/HereForYou for materials and messaging you can share through your unique channels. 

 

Please also help us remind your contacts that the Governor has mandated wearing masks in public. We are pushing that message out on our social channels and hope you’ll help share it. 

Thank you again for your partnership, and for all you are doing to support and assist Coloradans during this very difficult time. 

 

Kim Bimestefer

Guidance Memos

Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and Disability Community COVID-19 Webinars

Long-Term Services and Supports COVID-19 FAQs - Updated 7/29/20.