Provider Update 11.29.2021

Hope this message finds you well. As you may know, we have been chasing different avenues to help ensure that Medicaid can be a smoother billing experience and more lucrative payer source for you to accept in your private practice. We have finalized three separate aspects that we strongly feel will help make Medicaid a more positive and beneficial experience for you. We encourage you to consider credentialing with Medicaid if you have not already done so (Please reach out to me for support with credentialing with Medicaid).

1. We’ve heard your frustrations regarding billing Medicaid and for this reason we are offering free services from a new billing vendor, Left Hand Management, who has demonstrated great capability and expertise in billing Medicaid.
• They are taking care of many outstanding issues that our private provider community has experienced and are ensuring that Medicaid claims are submitted correctly and paid on the first go.
• We highly recommend using their service, or at least the 5 consulting hours that we are providing free of charge to our local network of providers
• This will help your practice in accepting and billing Medicaid (in addition to all other commercial insurance).
2. Rocky Mtn Health Plans, our RAE (Regional Accountability Entity) which administers Medicaid in our specific region (#1), has agreed to negotiate rate increases for mental health clinicians accepting Medicaid in their private practices that serve clients in Summit County.
• Rocky is also starting an equity program where an additional rate increase (on top of the aforementioned new negotiated standard rate increase) will apply for bilingual providers, and providers specializing/certified in serving LGBTQ+ populations. Details on the increased payment for equity criteria are not confirmed at this time, but are certainly worth asking about along with the rate increase.
• To negotiate a rate increase, and to explore whether you would qualify for Rocky’s special new equity program, please complete the attached survey, and submit to Maureen Carney <Maureen.Carney@rmhp.org> and Chasity Edwards <Chasity.Edwards@rmhp.org> to begin the discussion.
3. Medicaid stipends are here!
• Building Hope has received firm approval and confirmation that we are allowed to pay an additional “stipend” amount per Medicaid session to our local providers.
• We will pay the difference of your standard Medicaid reimbursement amount to bring you up to a total of $100 per hour session. Following your initial outreach to Rocky for rate negotiations, please contact me to get set up with this additional stipend payment which will bring your rate amount to $100/hr session.
• There will be a basic reporting process that will need to be provided to show your Medicaid sessions for us to pay towards, which can potentially be submitted by you, or your biller.

Please respond back if you have questions or want to move ahead with any of these three aspects to help make Medicaid more palatable to your practice!

Thanks,
Ravi