This Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (the Department) newsletter is designed to inform county directors, management and staff about high-impact updates, important changes, county performance, new guidance, and program changes.

At our recent Health Cabinet Policy Summit, 91% said it’s critical for all of us to work together through the end of the public health emergency (PHE). We estimate that more than 560,000 Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) members in the continuous coverage category will be reviewed for benefits when the nation transitions out of the PHE.

In crafting our end-of-the-PHE plan, our goals include: continuity of coverage for our members no longer eligible for Health First Colorado/CHP+; implementing operational changes to improve the member experience; and minimizing the impact on county and medical assistance site eligibility workers wherever possible. To address the second and third goals, we have automated aspects of member renewals. We want to thank our county partners, sister agencies, Connect for Health Colorado and community organizations for collaborating to achieve these goals. Fortunately, the federal government is allowing up to 14 months after the end of the PHE for member coverage renewals and transitions. We invite you to register for our April 15 webinar at Colorado.gov/hcpf/phe-planning to learn more about our plan and how you can help.

While we don’t know exactly when the federal government will end the PHE, there are steps we can take now to be ready. One of the most important is for member addresses to be accurate so they receive important coverage and renewal information. To make updates, members can:

Planning for the end of the PHE and coverage continuity was just one topic at our recent Health Cabinet Policy Summit. Other topics included health care affordability, behavioral health transformation, policy considerations from our Hospital Insights Report, and pandemic to endemic management of COVID-19. Our audience of ~1,000 attendees also shared:

You can view summit materials on our Affordability website.

Thank you again for your tremendous partnership to address the unprecedented challenges faced over the last two years. Thanks to your outstanding efforts and leadership, we have weathered this incredibly difficult period far better than many other states. As we prepare for the shift from pandemic responsiveness to endemic management and pandemic readiness, continued collaboration remains critical to achieving our shared goals to move Colorado forward in a way that improves health care equity, access, outcomes and affordability.

Below are the resources available on the renewal process and the templates. In addition, our communications team just posted a toolkit to encourage members to update their contact information.

The first phase of our partner toolkit (English and Spanish)—focused on updating your address and signing up for e-communications is now ready.

Income guidelines are now available for the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid program and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program effective April 1, 2022.

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

Feeling anxious about Renewal Revamp? We’ve got you covered! The Continuous Improvement Team will be hosting Learning Sessions to assist your site with the upcoming changes. These sessions will:

All eligibility sites are encouraged to have at least two eligibility staff members attend. The recommended participants for small & medium counties are director, supervisor, and lead worker. For large counties we recommend the division director, manager, and supervisor. Those attending will need to RSVP through COLearn. Please be sure to attend the date allocated for your size of eligibility site. Your staff do not need to attend both sessions for your size, only one is needed as the same information will be presented.

Virtual - Google Meeting

(US) +1 413-459-4339‬ PIN: ‪128 133 968‬#

April 27, 2022

Time: 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Virtual - Google Meeting

(US) +1 413-459-4339‬ PIN: ‪128 133 968‬#

April 28, 2022

Time: 1 – 2:30 p.m.

For any questions, please contact the Continuous Improvement team at hcpf_performance.improvement@state.co.us.

The income limits for the Health First Colorado MAGI, Child Health Plan Plus, Health First Colorado Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities, Health First Colorado Buy-In Program for Children with Disabilities, Medical Assistance—Medicare Savings, and Low-Income Subsidy programs are based on Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines that are updated annually. The 2022 guidelines were published in January 2022. The 2022 guidelines supersede any prior agency letters and memos.

To view these memos, see our Operational Memo webpage. Please share these Operational Memos with all affected Medical Assistance eligibility staff, supervisors, and outside agencies, as appropriate.

Policy questions regarding this communication may be directed to hcpf_medicaid.eligibility@state.co.us

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE). As a result, most Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) members have remained enrolled (known as Continuous Coverage, or “locked-in”) and have been eligible to receive benefits during the PHE.

At the end of the PHE, these members will require an eligibility review within the timeframe given by our federal partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The Department received funding for the Overflow Processing Center (OPC), which will assist counties with the end of PHE workload and then will continue to assist with backlogs of Medicaid and CHP+ applications, eligibility determinations, and redeterminations ongoing.

Prowers County has been selected as the vendor for the OPC. They are located in Granada, CO and are a different entity from Prowers Department of Human Services (DHS), Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) is excited to announce that the Overflow Processing Center (OPC) is fully staffed! All OPC staff is currently attending training with the Staff Development Center (SDC). The OPC will implement a soft launch with one or two selected counties to finalize their internal processes, quality, timeliness and the customer experience so they are able to seamlessly accept work from other eligibility partners.

The OPC will release a launch announcement that will include resources such as an Operational Memo, FAQ and information on how eligibility sites can request their assistance.

The Department’s goal is to keep eligibility sites informed about the status of Overflow Processing Center and to continue to partner through the challenges resulting from the Public Health Emergency.

If you have questions, please reach out to Valerie Gallegos.

Connect for Health Colorado, Colorado's official health insurance marketplace, is requesting applications from certified partners to operate enrollment centers, certified application counselor locations, and assistance sites across the state. Partners help Connect for Health Colorado reach many of our strategic goals, including:

How to Apply: The application is dynamic and allows organizations to apply for partnership based on their organization type, staffing, goals, and customer service. New questions and tasks are created depending on answers to previous questions.

Based on the application, each organization will be considered for the appropriate award area. Connect for Health Colorado welcomes applications from any partner but might not accept all proposals. Live webinars are scheduled to help guide applicants through the application process. Access the Partner Application Webinar information.

To apply: https://c4hco.smapply.io/

Who May Apply: Applications will be considered from new and existing partners. This includes new partners who currently serve customers in a one-on-one setting as well as certified brokers, broker agencies and current assistance network partners (including certified application counselor locations and assistance sites).

For more information, contact your current Connect for Health Colorado points

of contact or ECTeam@c4hco.com.

Have you signed up yet for the new Community First Choice (CFC) Newsletter? It's where you will find all the latest updates on project news, stakeholder engagement, and more! Stay up to date with CFC by signing up for the CFC updates Email List. For more information visit the CFC Webpage or email us.

The CDC has approved an additional booster dose for people who may be at higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. People over the age of 50 can now get an additional booster four months after their prior dose to increase their protection.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 31, 2022. The Moderna vaccine has been available under emergency use authorization (EUA) for individuals 18 years of age and older since Dec. 18, 2020.

The COVID-19 Pfizer booster is approved for anyone 12 and older. The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment encourages all Coloradans age 12 and up to get a booster dose as soon as possible if it has been at least six months since they got their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or at least two months since they got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

As a reminder, children ages 5-11 are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines and boosters are common practice in routine childhood vaccination. Many vaccines require multiple doses at specific intervals to be most effective. Anyone with questions about boosters is encouraged to speak with their health care provider.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and boosters and where to find them. Anyone who needs help making a vaccine appointment should call 1-877-268-2926. Health First Colorado members who need help finding a ride to get to a vaccine appointment can use the Non-Emergent Medical Transportation benefit.

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department) has entered into two value-based contracts with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for its Entresto drug therapy used to treat heart failure and with Novartis Gene Therapies for its Zolgensma drug therapy used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Both contracts have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2022.

For more information please see the news release.

Continuous Coverage Each county was required to submit an updated PHE Staffing Plan to the Department by March 15, 2022. If PHE Staffing Plan was submitted by the due date, the Department has determined the county to have complied with the Continuous Coverage Incentive requirement and will issue the Continuous Coverage Incentive Payment to each county with an updated PHE Staffing Plan on file.

County Incentives Support Call is scheduled on Monday, June 20, 2022, from 2-3:30 p.m. Topics will include FY21-22 close out process and preview of FY22-23 Incentives.

Yearend report out will take place virtually in June. Invitation and details will be emailed in May.

FY2022-23 Competitive applications will be released after the Long Bill is signed.

Timeliness for all Medical Assistance applications was measured at 96.96%.

Timeliness for all Medical Assistance redeterminations was measured at 98.10%.