Colorado

Medicaid program name: Health First Colorado

Medicaid ACO program name: Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) and Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs)

Status: Active

Summary:
Colorado began an Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) program in 2011 designed using accountable care principles to connect all Medicaid beneficiaries to primary care. In July 2018 the state began Phase Two of their program to expand and enhance the ACC through Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs), and coverage is now mandatory for nearly all of the state’s Medicaid beneficiaries. Although often described as an ACO program, Colorado’s ACC might best be viewed as a more generic value-based payment and quality approach. The initial focus on primary care now includes integration of behavioral health services and primary care under RAEs, but RAEs do not currently involve coordination of specialty, ancillary or hospital care. Provider payments include incentives for quality and there is no downside risk; savings of $161 million have been attributed to the Colorado ACC program.  

More information:

• The Ways of the RAES: Regional Accountable Entities and Their Role in Colorado Medicaid’s Newest Chapter
• ACC Provider and Stakeholder Resource Center
• ACC Deliverables