Navigator - Provider Newsletter from Colorado Access

Dear Health Community Colleague,

Welcome to the December edition of the Navigator. In this month’s issue, you’ll find information about upcoming webinars and trainings, health equity, and support groups. You’ll also find information about new research results and study opportunities.

If you want to learn more about anything in this issue of the Navigator or just have a question, don't hesitate to contact us or follow us on any of our social media channels using the links below.

In good health,
Colorado Access

The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) needs more enrolled providers to ensure that all Coloradans have access to quality health care during the current public health emergency. Incentives and benefits include:

Temporary provider enrollment during the public health emergency.
Faster payments than private payers.
Full control of the patients you see.

If you are already enrolled with Health First Colorado, you do not need to
re-enroll. If you know a provider who would like to become a Health First Colorado provider, click here to learn more, or have them call the Health First Colorado provider services call center at 844-235-2387, then select option 2, then option 5.

This voluntary statewide program aims to lower the overuse of our health care system, particularly the use of pharmaceuticals. Once members are identified and placed into the program, our care management team will help coordinate their care. Click here to learn more about COUP.

How COUP benefits you and your patients: As a participating provider, you’re able to help lower the overuse of our health care system and give an extra level of help to patients who may be battling addiction issues, repeated misuse of the emergency departments, or need other assistance to find the right health care. For more information about becoming a locked-in COUP provider, please contact your provider relations representative.
How you can get involved: You must choose to “lock-in” to the program, which allows your pharmacy or practice to be the primary source for health care for a member enrolled in COUP. You must be validated with the state first. Please email us at provider.contracting@coaccess.com to begin the process. It may take 30 to 45 days.

Serving individuals with hearing impairments during the COVID-19 pandemic: Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) is partnering with the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and the Deafblind (CCDHHDB), along with the Mental Health Center of Denver (MCHD)/Colorado Daylight Partnership to offer free trainings to interested providers. Trainings will be offered on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or Tuesday, February 9, 2021 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Trainings are offered for clinic staff and clinic administration, and to help CCDHHDB tailor trainings appropriately, they have asked that each group completes an assessment prior to registration. Click here for the staff link and click here for the administrator link.
E and M coding webinar: On Thursday, December 17th from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Pam Ballou-Nelson and expert coder Nancy Enos will present updates from the final rules for the new E and M coding, which will enable providers to bill for non-patient contact time on the day of the visit. Click here to register.
Free webinar on Medicaid substance use disorder (SUD) benefits: Join Rocky Mountain Health Plans for an overview of Medicaid SUD benefits and treatment. This will include how to code and document to optimize compensation for providing valuable support to patients with substance use issues. Multiple dates of the same presentation
are available:

Click here to register for Friday, December 11, 2020 from
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Click here to register for Tuesday, January 6, 2021 from
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Community Events

Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC) 40th anniversary online silent auction
Shop for gifts and help support APDC in continuing to serve immigrant and refugee communities. Click here for the auction or click here to donate and become an auction sponsor. The auction ends at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17th.

Cultural Virtual SpeakOut
On Monday, December 21st from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., join the Colorado Crime Survivors Network, Inc for a community conversation that will address senseless acts of violence and the mental health of communities of color. Click here for more information and to register.

Aurora Day of Giving
Once a month mobile food distribution event. Food for 1,500 families, along with pet food and baby supplies, is available at each event.

All events begin at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday December 19th

Gateway High School
1300 S. Sable Blvd.
Overland High School
12400 E. Jewell Ave.
Town Center of Aurora
(in front of JC Penney)
14200 E. Alameda Ave.

Questions & volunteer opportunities: 303-739-7281 or auroragov.org/mobilefoodpantry communityrel@auroragov.org

Mobile food pantry
The Food Bank of the Rockies mobile food pantry will be at Empower Field on the fourth Monday of every month from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or until the food runs out. Everyone is welcome. Click here for more information.

Empower Field at Mile High
1701 Bryant St.,
Denver, CO 80204

Questions & volunteer opportunities: foodbankrockies.org

If you have an upcoming community event that you'd like us to share, please email us.

CU Anschutz is partnering with the State Network of Colorado Ambulatory Practices and Partners (SNOCAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network for a new study, Home vs Office for Medication Enhanced Recovery (HOMER). HOMER will compare three methods of induction for medication assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD. There is space for 100 primary care practices across the country.

Patients: Enrolled patients will begin the study in March 2021. Practices will need to identify ~12 patients between the ages of 6 and 20 over a 12-month period to participate.
Practices: Will receive $200/enrolled patient and $35/month/patient for nine months of monitoring and data tracking, as well as access to MAT resources. Practices will begin participation in early 2021.
Click here to request more information about
the study.

Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) is an evidence-based service that helps people with diabetes learn how to manage their condition. It’s a covered lifetime benefit under Medicaid, Medicare, and most private payers, so people with diabetes can access it at any time. DSMES is also offered in Spanish. Click here for more information or contact Joanna Espinoza at joanna.espinoza@state.co.us with questions.
Tri-County Health Department is offering free, grant-funded virtual classes in both English and Spanish. Patients can register for classes by calling 820-266-2971 or visiting tchd.org/diabetes.

We have two new initiatives to outreach the EPSDT population ages 0 to 20. One is to target newly enrolled members to inform them of services covered by their Medicaid plan. The other targets members who are overdue for their well visits. The populations have been split into two groups (ages 0 to 17 and 18 to 20) and there is both a monthly direct mail program and a digital engagement program. Both components serve as a reminder of the benefits of a well visit and other EPSDT-specific benefits.

Are you a primary care provider with patients ages 10 to 24 and a high Medicaid population (greater than 40%)? Then you may be eligible to participate in Partners for Children’s Mental Health’s study about youth suicide care in a primary care setting. Suicide is the number two cause of death among Colorado youth in this age bracket, and one out of seven Colorado high school students reported that they seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, with one out of 15 Colorado high school students making an attempt. As part of this study, you’ll receive free training and technical support for brief interventions to keep struggling patients out of the emergency department and safe until they are able to get ongoing behavioral health support. For more information, please email erin.bishop@childrenscolorado.org.

Mile High Behavioral Healthcare’s Street Outreach team works throughout the year and in all types of weather to help people experiencing homelessness. Through partnerships with many Aurora organizations, the team is able to accomplish their goal of giving everyone access to a safe place to sleep at night, especially when the weather puts a person at risk.

When temperatures drop below 20 degrees or if substantial amounts of snow are predicted, the team brings individuals experiencing homelessness to a safe place. Those who accept assistance are triaged on the van for immediate physical or psychological concerns and transported to the local Comitis shelter or a local overflow shelter. Those who refuse assistance are given a food packet, blanket, cold weather essentials, and a resource cards. Everyone who is contacted by the team is followed up with by a member of Aurora Mental Health Center’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) team.

CDPHE has released an immunization media toolkit with social media posts, key messages for all communications, and English and Spanish flyers that can be co-branded and printed out. Click here to learn more.
CDPHE also has a website with flu vaccine information, vaccine provider locations, and important flu facts. Click here for the English site and here for the Spanish site.
The MMR vaccine is another important one, and CDPHE has also created a website with MMR vaccine information, provider locations, and important MMR facts. Click here for the English site and here for the Spanish site.