February 2, 2022
INSPIRE WELLNESS
NHP Provider Newsletter
In this issue:
  • COVID
  • Health First Colorado Coverage of At-Home Covid Tests
  • Omicron Resources
  • Update on Monoclonal Antibody Treatments: Supplies Limited
  • Colorado COVID-19 Health Care Provider Vaccine Information Toolkit
  • Statewide COVID Vaccine Information
  • Provider Resources and Information
  • Extension of Public Health Emergency
  • February is American Heart Month
  • Eating Disorders Week February 28th-March 5th
  • National Children's Dental Month
  • Help Increase Enrollment of Medicaid Members in WIC and SNAP
  • Behavioral Health Provider Recruitment
  • Effective January 1, 2022: Updated Coding Manual
  • POS 10 Code Addition Effective April 4, 2022
  • Notice from Northeast Health Partners Regarding Updated Fee Schedule
  • Updated Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) Billing Manual
  • Behavioral Health Provider Contracting Opportunity for Family First Program
  • Letter to Providers Regrading Bed Count Data as Part of Enrollment
  • Housing Instability Resources for Members
  • Child Welfare Behavioral Health Programs
  • Upcoming Events and Webinars
COVID
HEALTH FIRST COLORADO COVERAGE OF AT-HOME COVID TESTS

Health First Colorado, the Colorado Medicaid program, will pay for at-home COVID-19 tests for members effective Jan. 15, 2022. Each enrolled Health First Colorado member can get up to 15 free at-home tests per month from pharmacies that serve Health First Colorado. There is no out of pocket cost or co-pays for Health First Colorado members. Health First Colorado will reimburse the pharmacies after members receive the free tests.
 
Health First Colorado members must get the tests from a Health First Colorado enrolled pharmacy. Health First Colorado members cannot be reimbursed for at-home tests they may have already purchased.
 
Currently, there is a shortage of at-home tests and pharmacies have the discretion to limit how many tests they will provide customers at one time - such as a parent wanting to receive a month’s worth of tests for each member of his/her family at one time. The Biden Administration has ordered 500 million tests be made available nationwide by early February.
 
The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has created a flyer containing talking points for you to share with your call center and stakeholders. HCPF also built a web page that lists all of the enrolled DME pharmacies statewide (as the tests will be billed under DME) along with a link to a number of FAQs.
UPDATE ON MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TREATMENTS: SUPPLY LIMITED

Per Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE): Colorado’s supply of therapeutic treatments, including monoclonal antibody therapy and oral antivirals, is determined at the federal level. As of January 2022, the federal government is supplying an extremely limited quantity of these medications, significantly impacting the frequency at which we are able to provide them. We are hopeful that the supply of monoclonal antibody treatment and oral antivirals will ramp up significantly in the coming months.
 
For more information about therapeutic treatments, call the CDPHE hotline at 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926).
COLORADO COVID-19 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER VACCINE INFORMATION TOOLKIT

In an effort to best organize and make readily available the wide array of health care provider vaccine resources, trainings and materials related to the COVID-19 vaccination program, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has created the online Colorado COVID-19 Health Care Provider Vaccine Information Toolkit. The toolkit has a variety of robust elements. Please share!
STATEWIDE COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment provides extensive resources and up to date information regarding the COVID vaccine. 
PROVIDER RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
EXTENSION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has formally extended the Public Health Emergency (PHE). The PHE can be extended for up to 90 days at a time. This extension started Jan. 16, 2022 and likely runs through April 16, 2022. For further details, please visit the PHE Planning website.
FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. In the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to heart attack. February is American Heart Month, a time when all people can focus on their cardiovascular health. This year the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is shining a light on hypertension (high blood pressure), a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Please visit the CDC’s Heart Disease webpage for useful toolkits and extensive resources to share.
EATING DISORDERS AWARENESS WEEK FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 5, 2022

Eating disorders are serious medical illnesses marked by severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors. These disorders can affect a person’s physical and mental health; in some cases, they can be life-threatening. But eating disorders can be treated. National Institute of Mental Health has provided the resources below.
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children to get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums. This is a great time to check in with children and parents about dental health and to make sure that they’re looking after their smiles.
Please share this resource from the American Dental Hygienists Association: Parent’s Guide to Keeping Little Mouths Healthy
HELP INCREASE ENROLLMENT OF MEDICAID MEMBERS IN WIC (Women, Infant, and Children) AND SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Medicaid beneficiaries are:
  • At high risk of food insecurity
  • 100% eligible for WIC and likely eligible for SNAP
  • Under-enrolled in SNAP and WIC

Participation in SNAP /WIC:
  • Improves physical, mental and cognitive health.
  • Improves food and economic security
  • Lowers healthcare costs and increases medication adherence

Please utilize and share these resources to assist members in enrolling in WIC and SNAP benefits:
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDER RECRUITMENT

One of the Governor's 'Wildly Important Goals' this fiscal year is to add 950 behavioral health providers to serve Medicaid members statewide. Please share this provider recruitment letter encouraging other providers to consider enrolling as a Health First Colorado provider.
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2022: UPDATED CODING MANUAL

Please review the attached documents for revisions to the Uniform Service Coding Standards (USCS) Manual. Providers must implement the January 2022 edition by January 1, 2022 for dates of service January 1st and thereafter, regardless of submission date.
PLACE OF SERVICE (POS) 10 CODE ADDITION EFFECTIVE APRIL 4, 2022

Effective April 4, 2022, POS 10 will be added to reflect Telehealth Provided in a Patients Home. Additionally, the existing POS 02 has a description change.

POS Code / Name / Description

  • POS 02--Telehealth Provided Other than in Patient's Home--The location where health services and health related services are provided or received, through telecommunication technology. Patient is not located in their home when receiving health services or health related services through telecommunication technology.

  • POS 10--Telehealth Provided in Patient's Home--The location where health services and health related services are provided or received, through telecommunication technology. Patient is located in their home (which is a location other than a hospital or facility where the patient receives care in a private residence) when receiving health services or health related services through telecommunication technology.

Please note that Medicare has not identified a need for new POS code 10. Providers should continue to utilize the Medicare billing instructions for Telehealth claims in Pub. 100-04, Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 12, Section 190.

For additional information regarding the codes, please access this document at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/R11045CP.pdf.

Here is the link to the official CMS Place of Service Publication.
UPDATED NOTICE FROM NORTHEAST HEALTH PARTNERS REGARDING FEE SCHEDULE

Please read this updated notice from Northeast Health Partners regarding the increase in their fee schedule.
UPDATED QUALIFIED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAM (QRTP) BILLING MANUAL

Recent updates have been made to the QRTP billing manual. The following days are not billable:
  • The day of discharge. 
  • Days when the client is in detention.
  • Days when the client receives none of the services included in the per diem rate due to elopement.
  • Days the client spends away from the facility, due to an M1 hold or a temporary pass, but still receiving covered services, are billable for up to 4 days.  

The rest of the billing manual can be found here.
ATTENTION BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS! CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILY FIRST PROGRAM
 
Beacon is looking for independent assessors for Family First Program (FFPSA). Learn more by reviewing the links below.
 
LETTER TO SUD PROVIDERS REGARDING BED COUNT DATA AS PART OF ENROLLMENT

Please utilize this letter from The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing in regards to the enrollment policy including addition of bed count information effective January 2022.
HOUSING INSTABILITY RESOURCES FOR YOUR MEMBERS

Beacon Health Options and Northeast Health Partners would like to contribute resources to providers to share with their members who may be in need of local housing and shelter assistance. Please provide this information to members who may benefit from these resources.
CHILD WELFARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESOURCES

Beacon Health Options and Northeast Health Partners would like to contribute resources to providers to share with their members who may be in need of local child welfare behavioral health programs. Please provide this information to members who may benefit from these resources.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND WEBINARS
RAE ROUNDTABLE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH---2nd Fri of every month at 11am

Click here to join the webinar.

Or By Telephone:1-669-900-6833---Webinar ID: 995 7438 8100---Passcode: 173943
Visit the NHP website for details on previous calls.
PCMP LEARNING COLLABORATIVE

Thursday, March 10, 2022 12 - 1pm (MST)
Focus will be on the patient experience.

Contact your Transformation Coach for the call-in information for this meeting.
MANAGED CARE 101
Hosted by Beacon Health Options

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 12pm (MST)
This webinar is an overview of managed care terms, definitions and general guidance on working with Beacon Health Options.
YOUTH MARIJUANA AND SUICIDE PREVENTION--LIVE EVENT
Hosted by Johnny's Ambassadors, Inc.

Johnny's Ambassadors educates the public about the dangers of today's high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide. Join Laura Stack, Founder and CEO of Johnny's Ambassadors:

  • Learn About the High-Potency Marijuana Products Used by Today’s Youth
  • See the Results of Legalizing Medical Marijuana for 18-Year-Old’s in Colorado
  • Understand How Adolescent Marijuana Use Can Lead to Mental Illness and Psychosis
  • Understand the Connection Between Marijuana and Suicide in Youth

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 6pm-7:30pm (MST)
LIVE EVENT: Cornerstone Church, 9941 Lone Tree Pkwy, Lone Tree, CO 80124
Click here for more information and to register. Livestream is also available on the link.