Dec. 8, 2021
Welcome to December. With the 70-degree weather we’ve been having, it's hard to believe that we’re in winter and the new year is around the corner. The HTP team has been working throughout November with the hospitals as they finalize their implementation plans. As implementation planning wraps up, hospitals will be transitioning into project ramp-up and will begin setting up their HTP interventions. Very exciting!  

Thank you,

Matt Haynes
Special Finance Projects Manager
HTP Timeline
Implementation Plan Review Period 

The HTP team is continuing to work with the last few remaining hospitals to get them to a finalized plan by Dec 31.

The Department's goal is to have all implementation plans available to the public by the end of the calendar year. At that time, hospitals move into the program ramp-up period and begin implementing their interventions.

Additional information about implementation plans, milestone requirements, interventions and timeline are in the HTP Implementation Plan and Milestone Requirements section of the HTP website.
Rural Support Fund

Beginning with Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2020-2021, funding for rural support payments will be $12,000,000 annually for each of five years equaling $60 million in total funding. 23 hospitals with the lowest revenues or reserves qualified for the Rural Support Fund.
For each qualified hospital, the annual payment is equal to $12,000,000 divided by the total number of qualified hospitals (approximately $523k per hospital). The funds for FFY 2020-2021 were distributed in August and September after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approval of the State Plan Amendment. Rural Support Funds in subsequent years will be disbursed in monthly installments as part of the Colorado Hospital Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE) fee and supplemental payment program.

Hospitals were given guidance on how these funds should be used to align with HTP goals and each hospital submitted an attestation form detailing the use of the funds. Attestation will be required for each subsequent year summarizing how the funds were utilized and how future funds will be allocated. The HTP Rural Support Fund webpage on the Department website includes additional information about hospitals participating in the Rural Support Fund as well as mechanisms of the fund.

The Department is working on the attestation process for the second year of the Rural Support Program. We are planning a webinar for the end of January 2022 or early February 2022 that will coincide with any stakeholder engagement meetings hosted for HTP and/or hospital rates. Please stay tuned for any future communication that details the webinar. Attendance will ensure qualified hospitals' success in reporting requirements to continue receiving the rural support funding. Any questions can be directed to hcpf_RSF@state.co.us.
Hospital Workgroup

The December hospital workgroup welcomes all seven Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs) who will be presenting and answering questions from the hospitals on the current engagement with hospitals around HTP, what next steps look like for measures, and how the hospitals can best engage with the RAEs as stakeholders as part of the Community Health Neighborhood Engagement (CHNE) process.
Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) Support

The CHA continues to provide HTP support opportunities related to HTP interventions and measures along with technical assistance to hospitals through the project ramp-up period. Please reach out to Ali Rosenberg for more information. 
Ongoing Stakeholder Meetings

The HTP team continues to meet regularly with stakeholders regarding HTP. The team meets weekly with the Colorado Hospital Association, and monthly with the Western Healthcare Alliance, the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium, and Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs). The team also has regular check-ins with hospitals and the Denver Metro Partnership. The team also presented at the Colorado Rural Health Conference on Oct. 24, 2021. 
Broadband Advisory Board Meetings

The Broadband Advisory Board (BAB) was created by Executive Order B 2020 009 to focus on collaboration and coordination of broadband efforts for Colorado. The BAB partners with the Office of the Future of Work (OFOW) for regular updates on digital inclusion and literacy. The purpose of the Broadband Advisory Board (BAB) is to facilitate the collaboration between broadband stakeholders with the goal of improving access and adoption to broadband throughout the State of Colorado. Their focus is to provide a neutral public platform to share information, brainstorm, and provide feedback to state agencies, the Governor’s Office, and other partners on (a) how to efficiently and effectively deploy fast, reliable, and future-proof broadband, and (b) how to make broadband infrastructure accessible and affordable for all.
Community Advisory Council
Community Advisory Council meetings continue to take place monthly. The next meeting is on Monday, Dec. 20. Agendas, materials and notes from previous meetings are on the Community Advisory Council website.  
Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE) Board meeting
The next Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE) Board meeting will take place via Zoom
(Meeting ID: 880 3751 9953 and passcode: 068011) on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

Additional information about the board, as well as meeting materials, are on the CHASE Board website. 
Helpful Links & Program Contact