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.

This month presents an opportunity to underscore the importance of our comprehensive, collaborative work to develop an equitable, accountable and effective behavioral health system that improves the health and well-being of Coloradans. It also serves as an opportunity to celebrate all the amazing work in progress to achieve this shared goal. Consider this:

Investment. First, we want to thank the Polis-Primavera Administration and the legislature for continued investments in Medicaid’s behavioral health budget, with a funding increase of over $400 million since 2018, and a behavioral health budget over

$1 billion for the 2022-23 fiscal year. We also invite you to celebrate the $450 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding approved by the Polis-Primavera Administration and the legislature, generated from the Behavioral Health Transformation Task Force Recommendations report and designed to transform the behavioral health system to the betterment of all Coloradans.

Legislation. These transformational investments are memorialized in a host of bills moving through the legislature this 2022 session. These bills establish the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) HB22-1278, improve access and quality outcomes, invest in local behavioral health programs, enhance physical and behavioral health integration with Department grants HB22-1302, invest in the establishment of universal contracts, create transparency into pay disparities and opportunities to close those disparities HB22-1268, redefine the safety net, improve care for historically marginalized communities and more.

Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) and Safety Net Accountability and Efficiency. The Department is also working to increase behavioral health provider accountability and relationship modernization in four areas: (1) new cost reporting templates, protocols and technical assistance will be released this month and will be used to calculate reimbursement rates for CMHCs effective July 1, 2023, expanding to all safety net providers the next year; (2) a universal contract will define obligations of safety net providers in meeting the needs of their communities while also holding payers like Medicaid and the BHA more accountable to behavioral health providers; (3) value based payments will align with universal contracts and will create and reward shared patient outcome and health equity goals; and (4) providers will identify opportunities to reduce administrative burden for discussion with HCPF, CDHS and the BHA.

Health Equity. HCPF’s Health Disparities, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Officer testified on May 2 about the importance of statewide mental health equity efforts.

Thank you for your collaborative efforts to revitalize, strengthen and transform our behavioral health system and increase accountability across all aspects of the industry. We appreciate your partnership and your passionate engagement.

The goal of the project is to verify residency of members identified in the Medical Assistance PARIS Interstate Match report prior to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) ending, to determine:

This activity will decrease the number of cases required to go through the renewal process when the PHE ends. It will also reduce expenditures being erroneously paid for non-residents. 

Details: This project includes updates to the PARIS cases in the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) to help determine residency prior to the PHE ending and help CBMS users take action as necessary. 

Please Note:

For more information, contact: hcpf_medicaid.eligibility@state.co.us

Do you need help? Do you have a question? Does a case need to be escalated? There are two ways you can contact the HCPF County Relations team.

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

This memo provides policy guidance for authorized individuals/entities, such as county departments of social/human services, Medical Assistance (MA) sites, Eligibility Application Partner (EAP) sites, and anyone who processes Medical Assistance eligibility applications about new rules regarding Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities.

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.

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide our community partners, stakeholders, and advocates with messaging and resources to encourage Health First Colorado and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) members to update their contact information. This toolkit is particularly important to prepare members for upcoming updates to the renewal process for Health First Colorado.

This toolkit was a collaborative effort among the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing and advocates, with review and input from Health First Colorado and CHP+ members. Partners using this toolkit may modify the language to fit their specific communication vehicles; however, the messaging in these resources should remain the same to ensure consistency.

Please note that highlighted text indicates areas where partner organizations should insert their organization’s name and information if they provide enrollment assistance. Contact information for a partner organization that could help with enrollment can also be inserted. Please delete these lines if they do not apply to your organization.

English and Spanish versions of all messaging and graphics are available.

Thank you for helping us spread the word!

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE). As a result, most Health First Colorado 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 Health First Colorado 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).

The Department 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.

As of July 1, 2022, CBMS will be updated to allow no maximum age limit for Buy-In Program for Working Adults with Disabilities (WAwD).

Individuals must still meet all eligibility qualifications for the program. Working individuals must have a disability determination through Social Security or the state disability determination vendor ARG. Individuals who are 65 and older who do not have a disability determination must submit a disability application to ARG.

To see more information, please view the resources below.

Resources:

In February and March 2022 HCPF offered training on the new renewal revamp project for Health First Colorado and CHP+. This project is the foundation for renewal processing for Medical Assistance programs going forward as well as being central to the requirements at the end of the PHE. It is critical for all of us to be well versed and knowledgeable regarding the newly implemented policies and system changes. As a result, HCPF is monitoring eligibility worker completion of training for Medical Assistance programs. The purpose of this article is to provide you with a report of members of your staff who have not taken the required Training: Medical Assistance Renewal Revamp. 

Staff members have the option to either complete the live webinar recorded version or the web-based training. The trainings are in SDD’s COLearn LMS at: colearn.csod.com under the following titles:

If staff have completed the live recording or the web-based training, and received a certificate of completion, they are in compliance and do not need to complete this series again. Staff members who did not attend the live recording or complete the web-based training must complete this required training by no later than May 31, 2022.

Staff members who have a COLearn account can access the training by logging in to colearn.csod.com.

If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Benson, SSD.

Thank you so very much for your partnership as we together engage on this renewal revamp journey.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to help build awareness about the Affordable Connectivity Program, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program. The new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service.

A household is eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program if the household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria outlined.

For more information and full details, visit https://www.fcc.gov/acp or call 877-384-2575. Check out the Consumer Outreach Toolkit at Affordableconnectivity.gov.

Read more about the ACP in the recent White House Fact Sheet: Whitehouse.gov

County Incentives Support Call: Due to the recognition of Juneteenth as a state holiday, the County Incentives Support Call is rescheduled for Tuesday, June 21, 2022, from 3-4:30pm. Topics will include FY21-22 close out process and preview of FY22-23 Incentives.  

County Grants Year End Report Out will take place virtually from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Invitations have been sent to counties awarded funding. Please email hcpf_countyrelations@hcpf.co.us if you have questions.

Timeliness for all Medical Assistance applications was measured at 97.87%.

Timeliness for all Medical Assistance redeterminations was measured at 97.63%.