June 6, 2011
Dear Parent and/or Guardian,
This letter is being sent to notify you that the Division for Developmental
Disabilities (DDD) is submitting waiver amendments to the Colorado Department of
Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) that could significantly change the services and amount
of services provided to your child/ward.
Following are the four proposed waiver amendment changes:
1.
Day Habilitation:
DDD is proposing to change the maximum number of hours of day
habilitation services. Day
habilitation services are facility or community based activities that are
provided in either individual or group settings.
If this amendment is approved by CMS, many of our clients may
experience a reduction in their services.
This could mean a reduction in the days per week of service or a
reduction in daily hours. Families,
guardians and advocates are encouraged to review clients' current service plans
and the proposed waiver caps to evaluate if this reduction will affect them, for
further clarification, please contact your Case Manager.
2.
Pre-vocational Services:
DDD is amending the Supported Living Services (SLS) and DD Comprehensive
waivers to include a pre-vocational service category. The pre-vocational service will
be used to assist clients gain the necessary skills as a means of transitioning to paid or
unpaid community employment.
Currently non-integrated work (sometimes referred to as “sheltered work”) is being billed as a specialized
habilitation service; however, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (a federal agency) does not favor
this practice and this service category will end on 6/30/2012. Clients will be evaluated after
five years of pre-vocational services to determine whether they are ready for
paid or unpaid community employment.
3.
Behavioral Services: Behavioral services assist an
individual to acquire or maintain appropriate adaptive behaviors and
interactions with others. The
waiver amendments propose to limit the hours of behavioral services per service
plan year. The amendment
also proposes to limit the client to one behavioral assessment per year. The behavioral line staff service is
being eliminated as an option for adults in services. Behavioral line staff currently is
used to train staff on implementing behavior plans.
4.
Dental Services: The waiver amendments propose to cap “ordinary” dental care at
$2,000 per year. The waiver also
establishes a cap of $10,000 for “major services” over the five year period for
which each waiver is approved.
General limitations to dental services will follow Medicaid guidelines, using
industry standards that are limited to the most cost effective and efficient
means to rectify the dental issue associated to the client.
Due to the significance of these proposed changes, the Colorado Department of
Human Services is providing an extended time period for public comment regarding
the proposed waiver amendments. The
public comment period has been extended to June 30, 2011. Comments may be submitted in the
following ways:
US Mail:
Shari Repinski, Asst. Director, Program Services
Division for Developmental Disabilities
4055 S. Lowell Blvd.
Denver, CO 80236
Email:
Shari.Repinski@state.co.us
Telephone:
(303) 866-7143
If you would like additional information, please visit
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDHS-VetDis/CBON/1251586991108
or contact your Case Manager or service agency to better understand how these
proposed changes could affect an individual in services.
Sincerely,
Tim O’Neill, Executive Director