October 13, 2020
County Director Update
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.
Top 3 Things to Know
Message from the Executive Director
County Partners,
 
Good news: the federal government is extending the current COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) that was set to expire on October 23. This means the PHE will now be in place through January 20, ending on January 21, 2021. We will still be diligent in planning and preparing for the end of the PHE, but this extension is very welcome news. 
 
Many advocates and other partners joined the Department in asking our federal partners for this extension and for as much notice as possible about any changes to the PHE. Thank you to all who engaged in this important effort. Our shared voices were heard to the betterment of the Coloradans we serve, the state budget, battling the rising uninsured rate, and administrative efficiencies for both HCPF and counties.
 
While the PHE has been extended for now, it is still critical to continue working the COVID “locked in" report and employing the tips and tricks that the Department has provided. Remember, each month that members are “locked in,” the number of individuals on the report will continue to grow. Keeping resources dedicated to working the COVID “locked in” report is the only way to ensure a manageable workload once the PHE does end. You will continue to receive updates and guidance on working these lists from our eligibility and county teams. Thank you in advance for your collaboration on this important work.  
 
We also launched a PHE planning stakeholder page that provides general resources and information. We encourage you to periodically visit this page, which will include member FAQs, notices and other updates. The Department will continue to update this link with the latest PHE federal guidance as it becomes available. In addition, county-specific updates can be found on our County and Eligibility Partners COVID webpage.
 
Thank you for your collaboration during these uncertain times. We appreciate your partnership.

Kim Bimestefer
County COVID-19 Locked In Reports
CBMS County COVID 19 Lock-in Report & Resources
The COVID locked-in report provides detailed information of all members on Health First Colorado and Child Health Plan Plus who have been locked-in (or also known as “forced passed”) during the public health emergency. This report is to be used by eligibility sites to identify the members within their caseload that will need support for either maintaining or transitioning health coverage at the end of the public health emergency.

The Department holds weekly over-the-shoulder support meetings for county eligibility staff to discuss this report every Thursday at 3 p.m.

New resources will be posted regularly on the County COVID Resource webpage:


County directors and secondary directors were given a link to a SharePoint site that shows a weekly high-level progress report of the overall number of individuals per county whose eligibility needs manual intervention by the county.

Additional questions? Reach out to the COVID Locked-in Joint Inbox
IntelliRide Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT) Statewide Expansion Update
NEMT is a Health First Colorado benefit for members who don't have transportation to medical appointments. NEMT was previously administered by different vendors in different parts of the state, but soon NEMT will be the same in all areas of the state. 


County Resources
County Grant & County Incentives Programs
Incentives
FY 2020-21 County Incentive Program
  • The Department launched a County Cyber Security webpage, where you can find:
  • Reference documents
  • Meeting schedules, agendas, minutes, and recordings
  • Frequently Asked Questions
Grants
Competitive Grants
  • Meetings to discuss Q1 of the grant program will occur in October.

Targeted Grants
  • More information on FY 2020-21 targeted grants coming soon.
News & Resources
Eligibility Error Rate Resources
The Department has created a Medicaid Eligibility Error Rates webpage.

Resources linked include:
  • Executive Director Communications
  • Federal Audits
  • State Audits
  • Department Audits
  • HCPF Response to Audits
  • Federal Guidance-Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM)/MEQC
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Benefit Announcement
The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (the Department) will host two training sessions focusing on the upcoming residential and inpatient substance use disorder (SUD) service benefit. Two sessions, both covering the same content, will be offered on:
  • Thursday, Oct. 22 from 1 p.m.- 5 p.m.
  • Thursday, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The training will cover topics including an overview of the SUD benefit expansion, enrollment with Health First Colorado as a residential/inpatient SUD treatment provider, billing procedures for the new services, ASAM Criteria documentation of medical necessity, utilization management, provider licensure requirements and content provided by the Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs) and Managed Service Organizations (MSOs) for treatment providers. 

Please register for the training and visit the Department's SUD webpage, Ensuring a Full Continuum of SUD Benefits, for additional information. 
Updates from the Staff Development Center
The Health Care and Economic Security Staff Development Center (SDC) has released several training materials that are part of the October 2020 CBMS Build. The projects for the October Build will be implemented into CBMS on October 17, 2020. So that gives you a little over a week to familiarize yourself with all the changes prior to them going live in CBMS! 

The CBMS Build Cover Sheet provides a high-level summary of this month's build training projects and contains a direct link to release notes for all the projects.  For all builds, this document will be placed on TrainColorado.com in the Document Library. 
  
Desk Aids: To access the Desk Aids, navigate to TrainColorado.com and search for the documents listed below in the CBMS Build Training folder: 
  • Project #14047: CBMS MA End Mailing of Client Health Insurance Information (MS-10)
  • Project #13762: CBMS Sponsor Reimbursement of Public Assistance Benefits
  • Project #13991: CBMS Updates to the Case Review Sample for Adult Financial 
  • Project #14071: CBMS Expedited Food Improvements 

Web-Based Training (WBT): To access the WBTs, users will need to log into Co.Learn and search for the projects listed below:
  • Project #13768: CBMS MA Retro Updates
  • Project #14047: CBMS MA End Mailing of Client Health Insurance Information (MS-10)  

Webinar: To access the recorded webinar, users will need to log into Co.Learn and search for the project listed below:
  • Project #13762:  CBMS Sponsor Reimbursement of Public Assistance Benefits
  • Q&A Document is also available for this webinar. 

If you have any further questions, please email the Staff Development Center.
Recent Memo Series Issued to Counties
Policy Memos
All Memos and their attachments can be found on the Memo Series website.

None
Operational Memos
None
Informational Memos
None
Supplemental Information
Quick Links
HCPF Publications
Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing 
(303) 866-2993 | 1570 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203