Colorado, HHS & Medicaid Officials Praised for Innovative Healthcare Program

Children’s Hospice International (CHI) praised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Colorado health officials today for instituting an innovative program based on a model of care it developed for children with life- threatening conditions and their families — the Program for All-Inclusive Care for Children and their Families(R) or CHI PACC(R).
   
"The diagnosis of a life-threatening condition in a child is devastating for families," said Dennis Smith, Director of Medicaid and State Operations at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees Medicaid. "This waiver will combine medical and support services currently available in Medicaid with counseling and respite care, also important for families with critically ill children."
   
Colorado officials anticipate the waiver could ultimately impact up to 4,000 children currently eligible under the new program, which will be allowed under waiver authority found in Section 1915(c) of the Social Security Act. The waiver is based on the CHI PACC(R) model of care, and will be implemented through the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
   
Colorado is the first in the nation with the 1915(c) waiver, and the second in the nation with a waiver to enable implementation of CHI PACC (Florida obtained the 1915(b) waiver in June 2005 to implement CHI PACC).
   
CHI Founding Director Ann Armstrong-Dailey noted: "This landmark health care policy would not have been possible without the leadership of current HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, former Colorado Governor Bill Owens and First Lady Frances Owens, the bi-partisan Colorado Delegation of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives — including former U.S. Representatives Bob Beauprez and Joel Hefley — and the technical assistance of Acting Administrator Leslie Norwalk and her team at CMS, and many others. We are deeply grateful for their hard work and dedication to these children and families in need."
   
"The CHI PACC program represents a bipartisan, bicameral, federal-state partnership that provides more compassionate, cost-effective care for children in need through Medicaid," said former HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. Last year, Thompson received the "Mattie Stepanek Award" for his outstanding leadership on this national program benefiting children with life-threatening conditions and their families.
   
Dr. Brian Greffe, Director of The Butterfly Program, agreed: "While our focus has always been to provide better, more comprehensive health care for these special children and families, this common-sense approach also creates significant cost-savings, in addition to a better quality of care. In Colorado alone, CHI PACC saves an estimated $22,000 per child, per year."
   
News of the CMS waiver for the program was greeted with overwhelming support from current and former Colorado elected officials. Said former Governor Bill Owens: "Colorado is the first in the nation to implement this new, compassionate health care program for children in need and their families."

Owens, who helped shepherd the program through Colorado’s state legislature and health care community, said Colorado CHI PACC program "will bring improved care to thousands of children and their families in the Rocky Mountain state."
   
"On behalf of the Colorado children who face life-limiting illnesses with grace and courage, we are grateful to have played a small part in proactive measures to improve the care and support that they and their families receive," said former Colorado First Lady Frances Owens. Last year, Mrs. Owens participated in a media walk-through and briefing of the pilot program at The Children’s Hospital.
   
"I wholeheartedly support the efforts of CHI, especially the efforts in Colorado. I believe The Butterfly Program will bring hope and comfort to the children of Colorado and their families," said U.S. Senator Wayne Allard (R- CO). "I applaud the approval of the federal waiver by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and am grateful that this waiver will allow The Butterfly Program and CHI to continue the good work that they are accomplishing in our state."
   
"By providing key support services to children and their families as they cope with life-threatening conditions, we are all working to ensure that the immediate needs of our most fragile citizens are met," said U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO). "This is a significant contribution toward the quality of life of Colorado’s most courageous children and families."
   
"This important waiver will allow hospice workers to provide more services to children who need it the most," said U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D- CO). "Thanks to the hard work of Children’s Hospice International, Colorado’s children and their families will now have access to important services like The Butterfly Program at Children’s Hospital, Denver."
   
"I am confident the CHI PACC model will play an integral role in the delivery of better care for our children being treated at The Butterfly Program, and similar programs throughout Colorado," said U.S. Congressman John Salazar (D-CO). "I am gratified to know of the success of Colorado’s Medicaid waiver."
   
Said former U.S. Congressman Bob Beauprez (R-CO): "I’m very pleased to hear that CMS has joined with families of children with life-threatening conditions to provide access to much needed care. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with Children’s Hospice International in bringing this unique solution to Colorado."
   
"While we should do everything that we can to provide quality health care for every child from birth, we also need to make sure they receive better, more compassionate care at the end of life. With this waiver, Colorado can lead the way and serve as a model for the rest of the nation," said U.S. Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO).
   
"Children and families will now have a more formally coordinated program of curative and palliative care, and the family support that they so desperately need," said Armstrong-Dailey. "While the CHI PACC model provides a core set of standards and principles, the model itself is flexible, allowing states to design their own programs."
   
Armstrong-Dailey and Greffe also extended thanks to Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany (R-Colorado Springs), and former State Rep. Dr. John Witwer, who helped throughout the initial phases of the CHI PACC initiative and waiver application.
   
Initial funding totaling $3.2 million for multi-state grant to develop CHI PACC programs, including the pilot program in Colorado, was secured through the federal appropriations process by U.S. Congressman James Moran (D-VA).
   
"CHI PACC allows states to receive federal reimbursement for a more coordinated service package than is generally provided under Medicaid. This is better, more comprehensive care for families in need, with less cost to taxpayers," said Moran. U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) has also been a key supporter of the national CHI PACC program, and Utah’s CHI PACC initiative since its inception.
   
Other states interested in implementing CHI PACC include Arkansas, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
   
Long-time supporters on Capitol Hill, including U.S. Senator John Warner (R-VA), former U.S. Representative Joel Hefley (R-CO), and U.S. Representative Jack Murtha (D-PA), are also expecting to extend the CHI PACC model of care to U.S. military families through a DoD CHI PACC program. The initial pilot for this program would be implemented at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.