The purpose of this Uniform Service Coding Standards (USCS) Manual is to achieve uniform documenting and reporting of covered Colorado Medicaid State Plan (required services) and Mental Health Program 1915(b)3 Waiver services (alternative or (b)3 services). Standardizing the documentation and reporting of behavioral health (BH) encounters contributes to the accurate estimation of service costs, development of actuarially sound capitation...

In May 2012, Colorado submitted a proposal to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlining its plan to integrate care for approximately 45,000 Coloradans who are fully eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are not already participating in another recognized system that provides care coordination. The Department intends to expand upon its current Accountable Care Collaborative...

As part of a comprehensive quality assurance effort, the Department required health plans to conduct client satisfaction surveys to ascertain differences between managed care clients, fee-for-service, and primary care clients. The intent of the requirement is to obtain measurement of client satisfaction, improvement of services based upon satisfaction levels, and the provision of informed choice to clients as they move into managed care programs.

Psychotropic medication are often prescribed to treat challenging behaviors and mental health issues. While necessary in some cases, numerous studies have demonstrated that the rates of psychotropic medication prescriptions are disproportionately high among children in foster care.

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has been working toward improving services and supports provided to children in the state with both an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and a mental health condition. Meeting the unique needs of these children can be particularly challenging because services, programs, providers and the entities responsible for the coordination of supports are typically determined by...