Navigator - Provider Newsletter from Colorado Access

Dear Health Community Colleague,

Welcome to the April Navigator. In this issue, you’ll find information about planning for the end of the public health emergency, a new place of service code, how we are working to address unique health challenges for the Hispanic and Latino community in Colorado and more.

If you want to learn more about anything in this issue of the Navigator or just have a question, please contact us. You can also connect with us on any of our social media channels using the links below.

In good health,
Colorado Access

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a public health emergency (PHE), during which state agencies are required to continue health care coverage for all medical assistance programs, even if a person’s eligibility changes. Although the state of Colorado has not yet received notice of an end date for the PHE, it is still important to prepare now for when it does end.

Reminder: Join the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) tomorrow, Friday, April 15th from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for a free webinar, “Planning for the End of the Public Health Emergency: Continuous Coverage Requirements.” Click here to learn more and to register.

Many providers have seen the secondary impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic conditions and have come up with creative ways to ensure quality care for these patients. On Tuesday, April 5th, we hosted a clinical provider meeting to allow clinicians to learn from each other and highlight this important work. Providers from Regions 3 and 5 of Colorado discussed how they worked on gap closure, engaged patients from the periphery (those who are attributed but unengaged), coordinated care across systems (specifically primary care and behavioral health), and used innovation to provide quality care.

Effective July 1, 2022, the following gender disorders will only be reimbursed under the Capitated Behavioral Health Program that is administered by Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs) for members enrolled in the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC):

F64.0 Transsexualism
F64.1 Dual role transvestism
F64.2 Gender identity disorder of childhood
F64.8 Other gender identity disorders
F64.9 Gender identity disorder, unspecified

Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) providers will no longer be able to bill the outpatient behavioral health fee-for-services benefit for services provided for one of the above-listed diagnoses when a member is enrolled in the ACC and assigned to a RAE. In order to bill for behavioral health service provided for gender identity disorders, behavioral health providers must contract directly with the RAE(s). Click here to learn more, or email Sandy Grossman at sandra.grossman@state.co.us.

Adolescent Reproductive Health in Primary Care

Join the Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) Colorado for a free six-part series that will include an overview of adolescent reproductive health issues, best practices in adolescent contraception and common adolescent gynecology concerns. This series offers clinically relevant topics for primary care providers who provide or are looking to build, expand, and improve care to preteens through young adults.

There will be six weekly virtual sessions on Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. from April 14th through May 19th. An optional in-person training on long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, insertion and removal procedures, and contraceptive counseling is available upon request. Click here to learn more and to register.

Adolescent Reproductive Health and Contraception for Nurses in Primary Care
Join ECHO Colorado for a free five-part series that will review important adolescent reproductive health topics and provide an overview of available contraceptive methods, patient-centered contraceptive counseling, and strategies for addressing common concerns and side effects of birth control methods.

There will be five weekly virtual sessions on Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. from July 28th through August 25th. Click here to learn more and to register.

Pediatric Psychiatry in Primary Care: Above and Beyond Core Essentials
Join CoPPCAP for a free six-part ECHO series that will cover early childhood mental health, disruptive behaviors in preschoolers and school-aged children, comorbidity, medications for anxiety and depression, and complex attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There will be six weekly virtual sessions on Thursdays from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. from May 5th through June 9th. Click here to learn more and to register.

April is Celebrate Diversity Month, a time to honor and recognize the diversity that is present in every aspect of life, including ethnicity, language, race, gender identity, and abilities. Here are some ways to honor and recognize diversity this month:

The Aurora Mental Health Center is offering an anti-racist learning series, Growing our HEARTS (Healing, Equity and Racial Trauma Transformation) Learning Summit. Click here to learn more and to register for one or more sessions.
Denver and its surrounding areas are rich in cultural experiences. Click here to learn more.

Colorado’s Hispanic and Latino communities faced unique health challenges throughout the pandemic, and we are working with Servicios de La Raza, one of the few organizations in the state to offer culturally responsive services to Spanish speakers in their native language (without the use of a translation service), to highlight and address these challenges. Their organization received approximately 1,500 new inquiries from community members seeking care in the past year.