County Rulemaking

HCPF's County Administration rules govern the Medical Assistance fiscal and programmatic operations of the county departments of human/social services (counties). These rules set standards for fiscal and program compliance, customer service, non-discrimination and accessibility, and more. 

With the release of the FY 2025-26 HCPF R-07 Decision Item, which requests $21 million in new funding for counties, HCPF's county administration rules are being updated in 2025. These updates will align with HCPF's investment in counties and aim to address member, community and provider feedback. In Colorado's state-supervised, county administered eligibility and enrollment system, having the right resources and the right oversight is essential to applicants and members getting the services they may be eligible for. The County Administration 2025 Rule Revisions Guiding Principles are listed below, as well as additional information on engaging in the rulemaking process. 

*Note: these rules do not apply to eligibility determinations

Guiding Principles for Rule Revisions

Improving Member Experience

• Set county customer service standards, such as call wait times
• Clarification for language access provisions and no-cost language translation
• Require all modalities of member engagement, including phone, mail and email, and public posting of office hours and closures

Addressing Federal Non-Compliance

• Align HCPF's existing agreements with counties to meet federal requirements, including oversight and compliance standards
• Incorporate personnel screening standards for county eligibility staff into rule
• Allow members to receive unencrypted emails if they complete the appropriation documentation

Incorporating lessons learned from the Public Health Emergency (PHE) and PHE Unwind

• Facilitate greater collaboration between counties and hospitals, nursing facilities and case management agencies
• Incorporate county requirements for the state escalation/complaint process into rule
• Appoint Customer Relations Coordinators in each county, so members have escalations contacts if they cannot navigate the standard process

Modernizing Fiscal Rules

• Ease unnecessary burden on counties by eliminating duplicative or redundant requirements for fiscal compliance
• Add federal and state language for allowability of costs
• Incorporate requirements for administrative federal match rates into rule

Improving State Compliance and Oversight

• Clarification for county training oversight, including standards for county trainers to have ongoing certification by the State
• Add new compliance review types, including Performance, Training, and Compliant Reviews, to improve member experience
• Add a new, informal non-compliance notice for counties, to address issues prior to HCPF's formal county compliance process

Stakeholder Engagement

While each stakeholder meeting has a specific audience, members of the public can attend stakeholder meetings, and submit written comments on proposed rules. Your feedback will be used to inform agenda items, discussions, questions, and the rule proposals. 

Provider and Advocate Engagements

County Engagements

Previous Fiscal Rulemaking Meetings

For the fiscal rules, HCPF is forming a committee to help revise the initial set of rules to ensure the rules are operable for counties. The committee will meet on: