Kiara Kuenzler M.D., CEO and president of the Jefferson Center, said her organization could serve an additional 10,000 more patients each year if Senate Bill 077 becomes law. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on SB 077 on Monday, legislation that would significantly increase the workforce pool for behavioral health counselors in … Read more
Governor Jared Polis’ Office of State Planning and Budgeting, with help from the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), recently submitted a budget request package to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) to financially stabilize nursing facilities and assist workforce retention efforts. According to Colin Laughlin, deputy office director of the Office of Community … Read more
The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) hosted a webinar from their “Eggheads” series on the Colorado Health IT Roadmap released in late November. The webinar brought together representatives from the Office of eHealth Innovation (OeHI) and CHI to discuss the three main goals of the roadmap: greater affordability for patients, expanded access to whole person care, … Read more
In October 2021, Colorado became the first state in the country to explicitly include comprehensive gender-affirming care services into its 2023 minimum health coverage benchmark health insurance plan. The plan incorporates expanded behavioral health coverage for those with gender dysphoria, hormone therapies, and “exhaustive” surgical interventions, according to Cara Cheevers, behavioral health program director at … Read more
Representative Mary Bradfield (R – Fountain) is a member of the Colorado House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee and the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee, as of Jan. 11. She also is a member of the Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force. In this Q&A, Bradfield talks with State of … Read more
The Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force released a draft of their final recommendations last week, which are intended to inform behavioral health policymaking for the 2022 legislative session. Before the release of the draft, a subpanel of health experts from throughout Colorado came together to give the legislative members of the task force policy recommendations … Read more
On November 30, the Division of Insurance submitted a Section 1332 Innovation Waiver Request for the Colorado Option. On January 3, 2022 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed the Division of its preliminary determination that the Division’s 1332 State Innovation Waiver Request application for the Colorado Option is considered complete. This marks the beginning of a … Read more
Today, Governor Polis announced the appointment of Dr. Morgan Medlock as the new Behavioral Health Commissioner for the State of Colorado and as the newest member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Dr. Medlock will begin her role on Jan. 18, 2022. “Colorado is entering a bold new era in delivering more efficient and better behavioral and … Read more
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department) suspended new enrollments into InnovAge Colorado’s Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The Department has concurrently directed a corrective action process requiring InnovAge Colorado to address patient care concerns in all their Colorado sites. The decision follows extensive audit findings of InnovAge Colorado, … Read more
The Colorado Primary Care Payment Collaborative (the Collaborative) released its third annual recommendations report recently, offering guidance on how to strengthen their primary care system and increase investments in delivery. The report builds on recommendations made in previous years and specifically focuses on investments in primary care, centering care delivery and payment methods around equity, … Read more