2022 HHAC Accomplishments

Administration 

Administrator Calls: HHAC’s monthly virtual calls with agency Administrators (or designees) have quickly become a favorite benefit that will transition to members-only by the time of our 2023 conference. The purpose of the 45-minute calls, scheduled on the 1st or 2nd Thursday of each month, is to relay and discuss important local and national topics, share resources, and collaborate on critical issues. About 40-60 Colorado agencies participated in each live session, with recordings being made available for playback.  

Weekly Members-Only Newsletters: The pandemic has highlighted the fact that our industry and the regulations that govern it are changing more quickly than ever. Consequently, HHAC has responded by making news and otherwise inaccessible information available to our members each week. 

OASIS-D Certification Prep, Administrative Round-ups: In response to a call for more HHAC-hosted webinars and means to get information to front-line employees, HHAC held several new free and member-discounted webinars in 2022. Additionally, we created a full-agency access option so that all agency employees could access recordings on- demand. 

Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Education: The ERC is an incredible opportunity for many agencies to recover payroll taxes and other costs for quarterly tax periods in 2020 and 2021. HHAC learned that our members were being approached by many businesses offering to assist with filing for the ERC at the cost of 10% - 20% service fees. In response, we arranged for free ERC education and provided members with 3rd party assistance options with service fees as low as 6%.  

Hospice & Palliative Care License Plate: It had been a long time coming, but HHAC finally saw the production of the special Colorado Hospice & Palliative Care license plate. Since July 1, 2022, hospice workers and the general public can show their support for hospice families and co-workers by placing the new plate on their vehicles. Click here for more information or to purchase today. A portion of the cost directly benefits hospice education.  

New Discounts & Member Benefits Including Bttn and CHAP: HHAC is always looking for new ways to improve the value of membership. One of our newest allied partners, Bttn, is a medical supply and PPE distributor that helps HHAC members assure supply chain and access discounts that are usually only offered to large healthcare systems. Visit here to learn more about the company and contact HHAC for a special discount code.  Another new partner, Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP), will waive 50% of the deposit for HHAC provider members seeking renewal accreditation or initial palliative certification with CHAP. Contact HHAC for a special discount code.  

Successful In-Person Conference & Addition of Fall Virtual Conference: HHAC conferences are informative AND fun! Our conference in Keystone in May 2022 was no exception. Attendees heard from Bill Dombi, President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, and from Winter Olympics gold-medalist Ruben Gonzalez as our keynote speaker. Other sessions included information for home health, hospice and home care. Be sure to join us in 2023 at Beaver Creek on May 17-19. Click here for more information. 

First-Time Attendees Party: Everybody likes a party, and we love to show first-time attendees how appreciative they are that they have come to their first HHAC conference. Invite new employees and other colleagues for the chance to be pampered and feel a part of the Home and Community Based Services community. 

New Career Center with Free or Discounted Listings for Members: HHAC’s job board is up and running with free 30-day listings for members (a $200 savings per listing) and discounts on long-term and featured listings. Click on the ‘Careers’ tab on the HHAC website or go here to review or post a job, or to be alerted when a new job is posted.  

Advocacy 

Representation at the State Capitol: HHAC lobbyists provide day-to-day representation and advocacy on members’ behalf at the Colorado State Capitol. The lobby team is in continuous communication with legislators, state departments, the Governor’s Office, the Joint Budget Committee, and other decision-makers working to communicate HHAC and their members’ legislative and regulatory priorities.  

Proactive Passage of HB22-1246: HHAC ran proactive legislation during the 2022 legislative session, to ensure that in-patient hospice providers can utilize automated dispensing cabinets to access prescriptions for patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week designating them as Specialized Prescription Drug Outlets (SPDOs). Prior to this legislation hospice was not able to use this technology that was available to other long-term care facilities. Hospice providers can apply for SPDO status starting January 1, 2023.  

Securing Medicaid Rate Increases: The FY2022-23 state budget included an across-the-board Medicaid provider rate increase of 2%. The HHAC lobby team worked to ensure that this rate increase stayed within the budget. In addition, HCBS providers received rate increases to bring all direct care workers to at least $15 an hour using federal ARPA funds. The lobby team worked with the Joint Budget Committee and the Governor’s Office to ensure that the state would continue to fund this increase after federal funds expired.  

Elevating Issues with Colorado’s Medicaid UM Provider, Kepro: The HHAC lobby team worked to bring attention to the challenges HCPF’s Medicaid utilization management provider, Kepro has been bringing on home health providers, particularly with prior authorization denials in the pediatric home health space. Ultimately, HCPF has put a pause on all denials for pediatric home health until at least 2024. In addition, HCPF is conducting an administrative review of all PAR denials for all home health services.  

Federal Representation: HHAC works very closely with State entities and legislature to advocate for local issues that impact our members and those you care for. However, we also represent members on the Federal Stage through our national Senators and Representatives, and through the national organizations and subcommittees that we belong to, including the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.  

PR & Marketing 

Media Relations: HHAC’s PR specialists maintain strong relationships with Colorado and national journalists covering health care and serves as the media contact for the association. HHAC’s PR firm communicates HHAC’s priorities and serves as a resource for journalists. In 2022, news articles and columns about HHAC priorities included:

Advocacy Communications: In 2022, advocacy communications included: