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Thank You, Colorado Access!

By Julie M

As we kick off this year honoring and celebrating the 30th anniversary of Colorado Access, I’m grateful to be part of the history of this special organization for 27 of the 30 years.

As I reflect, I have a vivid memory of my first day at Colorado Access on April 29, 1998, and the energy and excitement (and a little stress) around implementing the Mental Health Assessment and Services Agency (MHASA) contract and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program.

Colorado Access needed systems and processes to bring up these new lines of business in addition to our Medicaid Managed Care plan – Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program). I saw a need and quickly developed a passion for working with the systems used to administer our health plan operations, like member eligibility and claim payments.

Colorado Access kept growing and changing in response to new business opportunities, like serving as the administrator for the Department of Corrections and Division of Youth Corrections, as well as the CHP+ State Managed Care Network (SMCN), implementing a Medicare Advantage and Medicare Dual Eligible plan, piloting commercial plans, Single Entry Point, and New Health Ventures on the Colorado Health Exchange Marketplace.

Fast forward 30 years, and these plans are now part of our impactful history while we continue our deep focus on Health First Colorado and the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC), currently implementing our ACC Phase III contract as a Regional Accountable Entity and our CHP+ line of business.

Amid all these business opportunities, Colorado Access has kept growing and changing in response to new health care industry and regulatory requirements. I’ve been part of exciting changes, like implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the National Provider Identifier (NPI), and moving diagnosis and procedure coding from ICD-9 to ICD-10, to name a few.

We also continue to invest in our systems. In the last thirty years, I’ve been involved in three major core system conversions.

This may not mean much to those not immersed in health plan systems and operations, but doing these things right ensures we can care for our members, providers, and employees.

Although this work isn’t in the spotlight like those who work directly with our members and providers, there is a lot of impact and gratification in ensuring that our systems accurately administer the benefits and pay our providers correctly and on time.

The most remarkable part of this journey at Colorado Access has been the organization’s unwavering commitment to its mission: to ensure that health care is accessible, compassionate, and of the highest quality. As we expanded our services and reached more communities, we never lost sight of our core values. Working here has always felt like being part of something greater—something that truly made a difference in the lives of our members to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to Coloradans.

Thank you, Colorado Access!