Potential Direct Provider Payments

As outlined in last year’s supplemental budget request, the Department anticipates implementing an ARPA HCBS direct provider payment, pending approval from the Joint Budget Committee.

This direct provider payment would be structured as a retroactive rate increase and may be available for select HCBS services and Targeted Case Management.

To learn more, review the informational memos for HCBS Providers and Case Management Agencies:

• Informational Memo 24-030: Billing for Targeted Case Management: Potential Direct Agency Payment for HCBS Case Management Agencies
• Informational Memo 24-033: Potential ARPA HCBS Direct Provider Payment

✅ Completed Projects ✅

1.06

Career Pathways

This project developed 20 soft-skill training modules and five healthcare job shadowing modules, designed with accessibility in mind and translated into five languages for current and prospective direct care workers. The job shadow videos include interviews showcasing real work experiences and skills. Additionally, over 60 roles were mapped across 20+ career pathways, each offering at least two steps for advancement.

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1.10

Rural Sustainability and Investment

This project successfully created a public Geographic Information System (GIS) tool that visually maps the availability of services like Homemaker, Personal Care, and Respite across the state, showing how these services align with the needs of members. This tool also identifies areas with insufficient services, referred to as care deserts. 

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3.04

HCBS Training for Members and Families

A new web page has been deployed to provide culturally competent training materials, including videos, pamphlets, flyers, an enrollment guide with supplemental information and a poster on HCBS transitions benefits and services for members. These resources provide information to navigate through the different waivers, the services within each waiver, state plan benefits, contacts, and explain member’s right to choose.

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4.01

Residential Innovation

This project conducted an analysis of funding mechanisms and feasibility to improve transitions of care for people transitioning from nursing facilities and other institutional settings to potential new models of care for investment and innovation. Following the analysis, the project launched an Innovative Models of Care Grant Program with the primary goal of sparking residential innovation, housing customizations, and new Home and Community-Based Services Programs.

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4.11

Hospital Community Investment Requirements

Key achievements and activities of this project include several produced reports and a wide range of stakeholder engagement from hundreds of hospital and community stakeholders. These reports include: A Process & Guidelines Recommendations report, an Existing Hospital Programs and Requirements report, an Implementation Plan, and a Best Practices in Community Engagement Guide.

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6.09 Updates to Salesforce Database

Through the successful enhancement of its Salesforce system, HCPF has significantly improved the management of escalated cases, streamlined workflow processes, and enhanced data quality. The implementation of creative and complex solution tracking, time management, and enhanced reporting mechanisms has positioned HCPF to better serve its members and meet its performance goals moving forward. 

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6.11

Centers for Excellence in Pain Management

This project established a new program, the Chronic Pain Centers of Excellence (CoE), designed to address gaps in care experienced by people with chronic pain enrolled in Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program.) To support Primary Care providers in managing chronic pain, the program offers accredited provider education, consults for complex pain cases, and connection to multidisciplinary care modalities for people who live with chronic pain through our referral coordinator and locally available resources within each region. 

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6.15

Improvements - System Communication [Interface with TRAILS]

HCPF partnered with Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) to improve eligibility determinations and case management for children and youth in Child Welfare enrolled in Medicaid. The project’s multi-phase approach included training and a system change in Trails, the state’s child welfare system, which identified and removed duplicate cases in the system. By reducing the number of duplicate cases in the system, the project aided in reducing double capitation payments to vendors.

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8.11 Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) Benefits Training

This project developed comprehensive training tools designed to enhance the understanding and utilization of EPSDT benefits within the Medicaid population, including children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and youth in any of the child welfare programs. These tools also serve to bridge the gap between EPSDT services and other programs, ensuring better integration of care for beneficiaries. 

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Public ARPA Metrics Dashboard

We are excited to continue adding new metrics to our visual dashboard highlighting the impact of the work that has been done over the past 3 years with ARPA funding.

This month, we are featuring metrics from two projects in the Strengthen the Workforce and Enhance Rural Sustainability category.

Visit the Dashboard

Community First Choice (CFC) Council Meeting

The CFC Council is in place to collaborate with and advise HCPF on the design and implementation of a CFC option in Colorado. Primarily made up of individuals with disabilities, those 65 years or older, and their representatives, the council’s experience and expertise will help ensure that CFC is implemented in a way that best meets the needs of Coloradoans with disabilities.

Agendas, presentations, and other related materials for council meetings can be found on the CFC Stakeholder Opportunities webpage.

For more information, contact the CFC team.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The December topics will be Updates on CFC Rule Updates and CFC Communications.

Join via Google Meet

Join via Phone:

1-260-230-1249, PIN: 719 313 221#

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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 meets quarterly (March, June, September, and December) on the second Wednesday of the month. For more information, please see the Direct Care Workforce Collaborative webpage, or email HCPF_DCWorkforce@state.co.us.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024

10 to 11 a.m.

Join via Zoom

Join via Phone:

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

Meeting ID: 993 1700 7314, Passcode: 396389

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Join OCL for Updates on Key Priority Projects

Join OCL for updates related to the implementation of the following key priority projects : Community First Choice (CFC); Children with Complex Health Needs (CwCHN) Waiver; Colorado Single Assessment and Person-Centered Support Plan (CSA and PCSP); Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) Decommissioning; Nursing Facility Transition and Diversion Efforts; Skilled Nurse Assessor; and Pediatric Long-Term Home Health (PLTHH) Prior Authorization Request (PAR) Restart.

The webinar will be held:

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024

1 to 2:30 p.m.

Register Here

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Reasonable accommodations 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.