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

Announcements:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Health First Colorado Community Health Worker Reimbursement

• NEW! Case Management Redesign Updates - Stakeholder Newsletter

General OCL Meetings:

• Children’s Disability Advisory Committee (CDAC)

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings:

• Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC)

Announcements

Stakeholder Engagement:

Health First Colorado Community Health Worker Reimbursement

Background

The Colorado Legislature passed Senate Bill 23-002 in May 2023 to add community health worker (CHW) services as a Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) benefit starting July 1, 2025. Federal authorization will be sought from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by July 1, 2024, to add CHW services as a covered benefit.

Through the Health Policy Office, Health First Colorado is collaborating with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to implement the legislation.

Stakeholder Engagement Opportunities

CDPHE will host a stakeholder engagement webinar on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at 2 to 3 p.m. This webinar will discuss the role of CHWs in the Colorado workforce; CDPHE’s CHW infrastructure, and examples of CHW work across Colorado. Register on Zoom for the CDPHE December webinar.

Health First Colorado will also host a series of stakeholder meetings to get input on how to meet federal requirements to add CHW services as a Health First Colorado benefit. Register on Zoom for any or all of these Health First Colorado webinars:

Health First Colorado Stakeholder Webinar #1:

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

Health First Colorado Stakeholder Webinar #2:

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

Health First Colorado Stakeholder Webinar #3:

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

Health First Colorado Stakeholder Webinar #4:

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

For More Information

Interested stakeholders can visit the Community Health Workers webpage for additional resources, timelines, and updates. 

If you have any questions, please contact Morgan Anderson with the Health Policy Office at morgan.anderson@state.co.us.

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NEW! Case Management Redesign Updates - Stakeholder Newsletter

HCPF has been steadily working toward implementing Case Management Redesign to remove conflicts of interest in case management and create a more person-centered and streamlined experience for members. HCPF has implemented two major milestones over the past few months, and these first steps have not been without challenges. We recognized that as we’ve had our heads down trying to work through issues, we have not been communicating frequently with the community.

We will be providing regular updates on the process of transitioning to the new Case Management Agencies, the launch and stabilization of the new Care & Case Management (CCM) system, and the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) renewal process through this newsletter. We are working toward greater transparency and awareness of issues related to Case Management Redesign while also focusing on implementing lessons learned as we move forward. The next newsletter will be distributed in early 2024.

We are grateful to each and every one of you for the work you do to engage with us and look forward to continued partnership.

Access the Newsletter

General OCL Meetings

Please find a general OCL meeting announcement listed below. Information about these and other OCL meetings is on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

Children’s Disability Advisory Committee (CDAC)

The CDAC serves in an advisory capacity to HCPF and makes recommendations regarding issues related to benefits for children and youth with disabilities age 20 and younger, provider education interventions and application of standards. All interested stakeholders are welcome.

The CDAC meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023

10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

Join via Google Meet

Join via Phone:

1-650-667-2698, PIN: 194 068 900#

ARPA-Related Meetings

Please find an ARPA-related meeting announcement listed below. Other ARPA-related meeting information is on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC)

The DCWC works collaboratively with stakeholders to identify and move forward strategies to support the recruitment and retention of Colorado's direct care workforce. This group intends to meet quarterly (March, June, September and December) on the second Wednesday of the month.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023

10 to 11:30 a.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Join via Phone:

(Toll-free) 1-877-853-5257

Meeting ID: 993 1700 7314, Passcode: 396389

Need to Make an Accommodation Request for One of Our General OCL or ARPA-Related Stakeholder Meetings?

Reasonable accommodations for all OCL and ARPA-related stakeholder meetings will be provided upon request for persons with disabilities. Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and language services for individuals whose first language is not English may be provided upon request. Please notify John Barry at 303-866-3173 or John.R.Barry@state.co.us or the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.

General OCL Meetings are on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

ARPA-Related Meetings are on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

Looking for Prior OCL Communications?

Do you know about the OCL LTSS Newsletter Archive? On this page, you can:

• Search OCL newsletters back to January 2022

• Subscribe to the newsletter

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