Old Age Pension Dental Assistance Reinstatement

Hello Oral Health Partners,

As you may know, HB 12-1326 reinstituted the Old Age Pension Dental Assistance Program. This program is coordinated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Oral Health Unit and the Dental Advisory Committee (DAC).

The Old Age Pension Dental Assistance Program has provided dental services including dentures and partials, denture repair, related preventive and restorative services, and tooth extractions to low-income seniors for almost thirty-five years. We are thrilled this program is being renewed to help meet the needs of this vulnerable population.

 

Below is a DRAFT timeline of necessary steps for implementation. While the timing is subject to change, this will hopefully answer the majority of your questions.

There have also been proposed rule changes to the Board of Health rule 6 CCR 1015-8.

At Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting, we requested and were granted a September 19^th Rule Making Hearing.

The rules must reflect the expanded eligibility found in HB 12-1326 and renew the dates of the provider reimbursement schedule and codes. The provider reimbursement schedule and codes themselves have not been changed.

A suggested change is to remove the required documentation for grantees to demonstrate a relationship with the local Area Agency on Aging; we have already received comments from the Board of Health about expanding this requirement to include a relationship with other community organizations.

We are in the process of drafting a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, which we will send out soon.

Please pass along this information to your organization's members and/or partners.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions after receiving the FAQ, please contact:

Jean.McMains@state.co.us 

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS TO JEAN MCMAINS: September 4, 2012 by 5 PM.

This email is being forwarded to multiple email lists, so I apologize if you get multiple copies of this message.

Thank you for your patience as we follow the procedures to implement this program.

We are making every effort to ensure that Colorado low-income seniors receive dental care in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Kind regards,

Oral Health Unit

Old Age Pension (OAP) Dental Assistance Program Timeline

Timeline	Activity
June - July 2012	Reinstate Dental Advisory Committee (DAC)
July 2012	Use existing OAP website and update so partners can track progress: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/pp/oralhealth/OAP.html
July 18, 2012	Request hearing for Board of Health rule change for: expanded patient eligibility, reinstating past provider reimbursement schedule, changing grantee documentation requirements
Late August, 2012 September 2012 September 4, 2012 September 19, 2012	Webinar (which will be recorded for those who cannot participate) to explain new state contract monitoring procedures, preliminary Request for Application (RFA) information and explanations, Q&A time with interested partners; this will allow partners to ask questions before the RFA is released    RFA release Deadline to submit comments on rule changes for the Board of Health Board of Health rulemaking meeting in Pueblo, CO
October 2012	CDPHE and Dental Advisory Committee  overview of grant applications
November 2012 - January 2013	Contracting process
First quarter of 2013	Grantees may start providing care once contracts are executed

Above timeline is subject to change.

If you would like to be added or removed from the distribution list for future communications, please notify us via email at jean.mcmains@state.co.us.