Date: 01/29/2009
Final
Department of Health Care Policy Financing
COMMITTEE ON JOINT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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02:55 PM -- Briefing from the Department of Health Care Policy Financing
Joan Henneberry, Executive Director, Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) introduced herself to the committee. Ms. Henneberry briefly discussed the programs that the department administers which include Medicaid, the Children's Health Plan Plus (CHP+), Colorado Indigent Care, the Old Age Pension State Medical Program, Comprehensive Primary and Preventative Care Grant Program, Primary Care Fund, and the Home- and Community Based Services waiver programs. Ms. Henneberry referred to a power point handout of her presentation (Attachment C). She stated that Colorado has a fairly lean and conservative Medicaid program. She provided this explanation because the department does not have a lot of wriggle room to make cuts. She pointed out mandatory services versus optional services that the state Medicaid program offers. She noted that in 2008, there was a 10 percent caseload increase in Medicaid. She highlighted that there is a funding formula that is reviewed every three years.
03:06 PM
Ms. Henneberry stated that approximately 60 percent of the departments expenditures goes to acute care, and approximately 68 percent of the premium expenditures are from the elderly and disabled. She noted that on slide 13 it illustrates that a majority of the spending occurs for the elderly and disabled. She spoke to the primary goals of the department which are to:
- enroll more children in the public insurance program;
- improve health outcomes. Ms. Henneberry stated it is not the departments function to just pay claims, but to also increase the overall health of the population; and
- develop strategies for reforming the long-term care system in Colorado.
03:11 PM
Ms. Henneberry also highlighted the department's initiatives which include:
- eligibility modernization; and
- to improve the Colorado Benefit Management System (CBMS).
03:13 PM
Dr. Sandeep Wadhwa, Chief Medical Officer, spoke to the establishment of a medical home for children enrolled in Medicaid. He stated that the Mental Health parity bill from 2008 was implemented. He stated the department is working towards making it easier for families to enroll in public program. He discussed the department's vision for reform which includes increasing stakeholder collaboration, enhancing the enrollment structure, appropriately defining benefits, care coordination, evaluating health outcomes, and creating a supportive payment system.
03:24 PM
Dr. Wadhwa spoke to the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC)- Executive Order. He stated its a multi-stakerholder interdisciplinary group which will identify and pursue strategies to improve quality and contain costs in health care.
03:28 PM
Representative McGihon asked about the provider rate cut for Medicaid clients. John Bartholomew, Director, Budget Division, HCPF spoke to the cuts to the providers. Representative McGihon expressed her concern that access to health care is going to be significantly reduced as providers will be unwilling to take Medicaid clients. There was some discussion regarding the cuts to the providers.
03:39 PM
Representative Gagliardi asked about the department about the modernization eligibility, specifically the $5 million appropriated for FY 2008-09, and how that relates to Representative Acree's bill, House Bill 09-1020. Jennifer Evans, Administrative and Operations Office, DHCPF, responded by explaining that the department was not implementing a new system. She explained that the money from FY 2008-09 was awarded to a different vendor than from the one who worked on the implementation of the CBMS program. She stated that Deloitte will be the new operator of CBMS. On April 15, 2009, Ms. Evans stated that the department will be able to begin to add on other programs to CBMS and move forward with the modernization eligibility initiative.
03:53 PM
Committee members asked several questions of the department regarding the upcoming budget cuts.