Colorado Medical Home Community Forum April 14: Quality Care for Colorado’s Kids

“RSVP for the next Colorado Medical Home Community Forum Quality Care for Colorado’s Kids on April 14th 4:30-6:45pm. There will be presentations from All Kids Covered and the Colorado Children’s Campaign. The event will be held at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, DOC Room, Building A, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO 80246. RSVP by clicking here. You can also attend the meeting via the webinar link and call-in 1-877-820-7831 and passcode 300218#. Contact Barbara Martin at barbara.martin@state.co.us with questions.” [Source: Colorado Medical Home Initiative]

SIM Workgroups and Advisory Board applications - due April 10

“Colorado's State Innovation Model (SIM) would like to announce the launch of the SIM Workgroup Application Process. The application process is not to discount any work that has already been done, but to make for a clean transition to the new process for each workgroup and to document applicants and work that is being done in the community. You will find the links provided below to the application for the workgroups, criteria for each workgroup and the expectations for workgroup members.

• Health Information Technology, Data, and Quality Measures: Criteria and Application
• Workforce Development: Criteria and Application
• Population Health and Consumer Engagement: Criteria and Application
• Service Delivery and Practice Transformation: Criteria and Application
• Policy and Evaluation: Criteria and Application
• Payers, Purchasers, and Payment Reform: Criteria and Application

Applications for each Workgroup will be accepted through close of business, Friday April 10, 2015. All applications should be submitted to gov_simgrant@state.co.us.

Applications are also being accepted for the SIM Advisory Board. The SIM Advisory Board shall provide advice, oversight, and guidance over the operation of the SIM office. The SIM Advisory Board will also provide recommendations about how to better integrate behavioral health and physical health care in Colorado. Interested applicants should apply for the SIM Advisory Board  by April 10, 2015 and appointments to the Board will be designated by the Governor's Office.” [Source: Colorado SIM]

Colorado Covering Kids and Families Coalition meeting - April 8th

“The next Covering Kids and Families Coalition meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Click here to view the proposed agenda. The meeting will be held at the Colorado Community Health Network (600 Grant St., Suite 800, Denver, 80203). Three-hour visitor parking is available by turning left into the parking garage off of 6th Avenue, directly east of Grant Street. Breakfast snacks will be provided. Click here to view notes from previous meetings.

For those unable to attend in person, you can join the meeting by phone and online:
Step 1: Dial 866-740-1260, enter access code: 8615165
Step 2: View slides online at http://www.readytalk.com/?ac=8615165” [Source: CKF]

Connect for Health Colorado Updates

• “Customers in the Individual Marketplace in 2014 should have already received a Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) to assist in filing their taxes. Anyone who hasn’t got one yet or wants to request a change should call 855-752-6749 by Wednesday in order to get one by April 15. There is more information on our site.
• Hope you saw that the federal Department of the Treasury announced a week ago that taxpayers who filed a tax return that relied on Form 1095-A information that was later corrected don’t have to file an amended tax return. But they might want to. It could cut their taxes. For the announcement, click here.
• Maybe you’re pretty well versed in health care reform and the changes it brought to income taxes. The Kaiser Family Foundation has published a tax quiz where you can prove it, or maybe learn something new. 
• Whatever your level of knowledge, you will likely find these tax tips on the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Facebook site useful.” [Source: Connect for Health Colorado]

Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s At a Glance and ACA Implementation News

Click here to view the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s March edition of At a Glance.

Click here to view the latest issue of HCPF’s ACA Implementation News. [Source: HCPF]

PEAK Updates

“March Enhancement Overview and Training Resources: Several enhancements went into PEAK on March 22 to expand PEAK capabilities and improve the overall applicant and client experience.  If you didn't have a chance to attend a training on these recent updates, here are a few of the resources that are available to help get you up to speed on what's new in PEAK:

• Summary of March Enhancements
• March Enhancements Overview Presentation
• March Enhancements Recorded Webinar

PEAK Training: The Intro to PEAK and Application Walk-Through recorded webinars are available anytime to watch at your convenience. Remember to check out the PEAK Outreach & Training site. We have updated the instructional user guides and will continue to add resources as PEAK functionality is enhanced.” [Source: Colorado PEAK]

Colorado Access to Care Index Released

“The Colorado Health Institute and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved released the Colorado Access to Care Index, a first-ever measurement of whether Coloradans are able to get the health care they need when they need it. The index is designed to help communities across Colorado better understand access to care challenges and to guide conversations about how to address them. Each region as well as the state has  an overall score from one to 10 based on their scores in each of the three components of access — Potential Access, Barriers to Care and Realized Access. All materials, including 21 regional infographics, are now posted here.

Click here to register for a webinar Thursday, April 2 at noon to discuss this new tool. It will provide an introduction to the Colorado Access to Care Index, what it includes, and how to use it.

Save the date for upcoming Safety Net Advisory Committee (SNAC) Labs:

• Track 1 – Accountable Care Collaborative: May 21 and September 17, 2015
• Track 2 – Access to Care: July 16 and November 19, 2015” [Source: CHI]