Navigator - Provider Newsletter from Colorado Access

Colorado Access and COVID-19

We share in your concerns about COVID-19 and how it is currently affecting operations. At this time, please know that Colorado Access remains fully operational. Our business continuity plans are in effect, and all core functions are being handled remotely whenever possible. Our customer service, provider relations, and care management teams are all available to assist as they normally do. On-site visits have been canceled, but we are available. Essential meetings are being conducted virtually.

Please also note the following:

Claims payments are being processed normally. We do not anticipate any disruptions in our ability to pay provider claims.

We are staying up-to-date with guidance from the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). Current information for providers can be found on their website. We anticipate that HCPF will release additional guidance for providers and RAEs over the coming days and weeks. 
HCPF is actively working with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to address Medicaid reimbursement for telephonic services. Further information about telephonic visits and telemedicine and how Colorado access is addressing it can be found here.

It is critically important that we focus on supporting our members during this time by providing the best care through whatever means are available. Documenting what’s being provided will support future resolution of regulatory and payment issues, and we thank you for your support to continue to provide care to the members we all serve.

If you have any specific questions, please contact your provider relations representative directly, or send an email to ProviderRelations@coaccess.com. If you have general questions about COVID-19 as it relates to Colorado Access, please submit them here. Please continue to check our website at coaccess.com/covid19 for answers to the most frequently asked questions.

If you are a physician or physician assistant who needs support and assistance with acute stress during this challenging time, call the COVID-19 Care Line for Physicians (Care Line) at 720-810-9131. The Care Line is a special peer support offering by the Colorado Physician Health Program (CPHP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is help for you today! Call to speak with someone or go here for more information. The Colorado Medical Society, COPIC, Colorado Hospital Association and Colorado Psychiatric Society endorse the Care Line to assist vital medical community providers.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have developed a digital engagement program to target all RAE (Region 3, Region 5), CHP+ HMO, and CHP+ SMCN members to provide information and resources regarding the outbreak. The program includes a total of eight text messages that include online resources for our COVID-19 webpage, the CDPHE COVID-19 webpage, and the phone number to our care management team. Additionally, the text messages direct members to talk to their primary care provider if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, are experiencing extreme anxiety, need help to get prescriptions, and to determine if telehealth options are available. The end date of this program has yet to be determined, as the COVID-19 outbreak effects continue to be monitored.

Community Events

In 2020, let's BUILD POWER IN COMMUNITY through thoughtful conversations with
leaders in the field of housing, homelessness, and poverty.

These educational events are part of a ten-part series of topics impacting people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in our communities, guided by audience interest and questions.

Our monthly events are FREE and open for everyone to attend.

Please RSVP by registering for each event below.

Wednesday, April 22 (Cancelled due to COVID-19)

Wednesday, May 13
Homelessness 101
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

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

COVID-19 Just-In-Time ECHO For Primary Care

ECHO Colorado has developed COVID-19 Just-In-Time ECHO For Primary Care to provide up-to-the-minute information and to answer questions about COVID-19 to support primary care practices and safety-net practices across Colorado. Three times each week, a panel of public health, clinical, and pharmacotherapy experts provide updates on testing locations, offer assistance on transitioning to telehealth, discuss de-identified patient cases, and debunk myths around medication management. The sessions include time for a Q&A and case review discussions. These free hour-long sessions will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7 a.m. ECHO, which stands for Extension for Community Health Outcomes, is a significant way that the University of Colorado reaches out to provide care in communities across the state. All Colorado health providers are eligible to participate. ECHO Colorado is presenting the COVID-19 Just-In-Time ECHO For Primary Care sessions in collaboration with the Department of Family Medicine, the Division of General Internal Medicine, the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians, Denver Health, and CU Medicine. Registration is available online.

Behavioral Health Documentation Quality Standards and Review

We regularly monitor provider documentation to ensure all participating providers who deliver behavioral health services meet quality documentation standards. Quality audit criteria is based on regulations, billing manuals, industry best practices, and other sources that support quality documentation.

Our quality department has developed a comprehensive training on the most up-to-date behavioral health documentation standards including:

General Documentation
Assessment
Treatment Planning
Psychotherapy Progress Notes
Case Management

This training is titled “Quality Improvement Behavioral Health Documentation Training” and can be found on the provider training page located here.

Audit tools have been built using standardized measures and scoring practices for quality audit criteria. These quality audit tools have been tested with inter-rater reliability and calibration activities to ensure consistency in scoring. Results of quality behavioral health audit activities include:

233 individual behavioral health charts from 34 facilities have been audited by quality
The average overall audit score is 76%
General documentation has the highest average audit score of 92%
Treatment plan has the lowest average audit score of 70%

COVID-19 Codes and Copay Update for CHP+/SMCN Providers

In response to COVID-19, we are waiving copays for COVID-19 testing for CHP+ and SMCN members. CMS has issued new Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes that can be used to bill certain COVID-19 diagnostic tests to help increase testing and track new cases. U0001 (CDC 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) real-Time PCR Diagnostic Panel) and U0002 (2019-nCoV Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2/2019-nCoV (COVID-19), any technique, multiple types for Subtypes (includes all targets(non CDC) are now available for providers to bill without a prior authorization or a copay to the member.

The practice support team at Colorado Access is small, but new and growing, and is making a valuable impact throughout the provider and community partner network. With four practice coaches, a program specialist focused on serving criminal justice-involved members, a program manager and a director on the team, they aim to impact value for the Colorado Access provider network of nearly 300 sites and numerous community partners by building relationships and providing resources.

The team strives to increase the number of engaged, trusting partnerships in the community. This furthers the Colorado Access mission to “partner with communities and empower people through access to quality, affordable care.” The team mainly operates in the field, but heavily relies on collaboration from other departments within the organization, as well as external agencies that focus on health access and health promotion. The practice support team embraces the work-life balance philosophy of Colorado Access, and plans team-building activities centered around our core values of trust, excellence, compassion, collaboration, and innovation.