The Colorado Medicaid program will receive $723,823 to implement its “No Wrong Door” initiative, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living announced Oct. 2.
The grant funding will create pilot programs designed to ensure comprehensive access points for Coloradans seeking long-term services and supports regardless of age, disability or payer source. The demonstration projects also will devise ways to improve information about service options for those seeking services as well as their caregivers.
“This funding will help us move forward with transforming our [LTSS] system to be simpler and more navigable for individuals on Medicaid and their caregivers,” said Susan E. Birch, MBA, BSN, RN, executive director for the state’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. “Nearly 75% of our clients live in place in the community, and this grant strengthens our abilities to deliver services and supports in the most efficient and cost-effective way,” she added.
The funding follows the state’s winning of a grant to develop a three-year implementation plan. Caregivers, clients, providers, representatives from private insurance, single entry points, community-centered boards, area agencies on aging, regional care collaborative organizations and other stakeholders helped create the plan through focus groups, an advisory council and multiple public forums. Additional public forums are planned for November.
The No Wrong Door project has brought together various state governmental partners, including the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing, the Colorado Department of Human Services, the State Unit on Aging, the Office of Behavioral Health and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
