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

Announcements:

• Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Over Cost Containment Threshold Changes for 2023

• Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey

Memo:

• Case Manager Retention Payments and Case Management Redesign

Friday Feature:

• The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Webpage

Announcements

Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Over Cost Containment Threshold Changes for 2023

The Department informs Case Management Agencies (CMAs) that, effective Jan. 1, 2023, the average-daily-cost threshold for Over Cost Containment (OCC) requests for certain Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers will increase. The following HCBS waivers are affected:

• Elderly Blind and Disabled (EBD)

• Brain Injury (BI)

• Community Mental Health Supports (CMHS)

• Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH)

As of Jan. 1, 2023, the OCC request threshold will increase from $284.99 to $314.99 per day. Any average daily costs over the threshold amount will require a review. The average daily cost that requires CMA supervisor approval will not change. Any OCC requests submitted to Telligen before Jan. 1, 2023, will be reviewed utilizing the previous threshold amounts. For more details, see Informational Memo 22-037.

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Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey 

The Department is excited to announce the launch of the Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey!

About the Survey

The Department wants to hear from the direct care workforce to deepen our understanding of their level of satisfaction with their work. We have partnered with an independent firm, Vital Research, to develop and administer a survey for Direct Care Workers to help plan for the future of Direct Care in Colorado. The survey will collect data on satisfaction with wage, compensation, benefits, career advancement, training, and overall fulfillment from working as a Direct Care Worker.



The current survey cycle began on Dec. 7, 2022, and will remain open for at least 30 days. A second administration of the survey will occur in August 2023, with updated questions incorporating feedback from the first survey. The Department will share a high-level summary of results. All data collected is confidential, and individual names and other information that could be identifiable will not be shared. The data collected will be used to support workforce initiatives and provide data for future analysis, budget projections, policy planning, stakeholder engagement, and improve quality assurances.

How to Participate

The survey is being administered via email and survey-link. If you are a direct care worker and would like to participate in the survey, please contact the Direct Care Workforce Team at hcpf_dcworkforce@state.co.us to request a link.

More information is in Informational Memo 22-044.

Memo

Please find a new memo listed below. This memo is also on the Department's 2022 Memo Series Communication webpage. Viewing the Memo Series webpage will show other memos of interest.

• Informational Memo - Case Manager Retention Payments and Case Management Redesign (Dec. 14, 2022): The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform stakeholders the Department has created a retention payment grant to encourage staff to remain employed with current Case Management Agencies (CMAs) throughout their companies’ transition phases related to Case Management Redesign.

Friday Feature

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Webpage

This week OCL is featuring the PACE webpage.

About the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

The PACE Program provides comprehensive health care services to their participants. One of the main objectives of the PACE program is to enable older adults to live in the community as long as medically and socially feasible. 

A PACE organization is responsible for providing care that meets the needs of each participant across all care settings, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Services must be furnished in at least the PACE center, the home, and inpatient facilities, up to and including admission to an acute care or long-term care facility when the PACE program can no longer support the participant safely in the community. The PACE center includes a primary care clinic and areas for therapeutic recreation, restorative therapies, socialization, personal care and dining, and serves as the focal point for coordination and provision of most PACE services. 

PACE organizations are monitored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in cooperation with the Department. For more information on the PACE program, visit the Code of Regulations, Title 42, Chapter IV, Subchapter E, Part 460.

About the PACE Webpage

The PACE webpage includes the following information about PACE:

• An overview of PACE

• Enrollment eligibility requirements

• PACE benefits and services

• An explanation of the composition and role of the Interdisciplinary Team, a key component of the PACE process

• Information about the appeal and complaint process

• Information about how to apply for PACE

We hope you'll bookmark the PACE webpage and use it as a handy reference.

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Looking for Prior OCL Communications?

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• Search OCL newsletters back to January 2021

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• Keep track of OCL announcements, meeting reminders, and memos