Grant will help coordinate care for Medicare-Medicaid enrollees

DENVER – The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has received a $13.6 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement a program to coordinate care for members who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

The program, called the State Demonstration to Integrate Care for Medicare-Medicaid Enrollees, will integrate and coordinate physical, behavioral and social-health needs for dual enrollees in both Medicare and Medicaid.

Colorado is one of six states to receive the grant money and will begin enrolling people in the program later this summer.

In Colorado, those members with dual eligibility make up about 7 percent of the total Medicaid population, but account for 29 percent of the state’s costs, according to a release from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Nearly 1 million Colorado residents are enrolled in Medicaid.

This grant will allow the department to provide access to coordinated care for more than 50,000 Medicare-Medicaid members through the Accountable Care Collaborative, a state program that connects Medicaid members with providers, and community and social services to help meet their needs.

“Historically, there has been a lack of coordination of services for people insured by both Medicare and Medicaid, sometimes including duplicative, unnecessary tests,´ said Susan Birch, executive director of the department, in a statement. “This grant allows Colorado to coordinate our members’ care, while achieving greater value and health outcomes for our citizens who are on both Medicare and Medicaid.”

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