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Accountable Care Collaborative Provider and Stakeholder Resource Center

The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) administers Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program), Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and other health care programs for Coloradans who qualify. Created in 2011, the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) is the primary delivery system for Health First Colorado. Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs) are responsible for promoting member health and well-being by administering the capitated behavioral health benefit, establishing and supporting networks of providers and coordinating medical and community-based services for members in their region. Current contracts with the RAEs, referred to as Phase II, end on June 30, 2025. New contracts, ACC Phase III, will launch July 1, 2025. 

On this page: 

Primary Care Medical Providers

Last Updated: April 2025

Primary Care Medical Providers (PCMPs) are key to the success of the ACC. They serve as the focal point of care for attributed Health First Colorado members and partner with their RAE to coordinate the health needs of their members. PCMPs will continue to bill HCPF for providing primary care services to Health First Colorado members. RAEs support providers with practice transformation, use of data and technology innovations like eConsult, and value-based payment models to support the delivery of advanced primary care services. 

Providers must, at a minimum, meet the following criteria to qualify as a PCMP: 

  • Enrolled as a Health First Colorado provider, 
  • Licensed and able to practice in Colorado, 
  • Practitioner holds an MD, DO, or NP provider license, and 
  • Practitioner is licensed as one of the following specialties: pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, or geriatrics. Physician Assistants (PAs) are unable serve as PCMPs as they cannot submit claims under their Provider ID. All claims for PAs must be submitted under the Provider ID of their supervising provider. PAs can provide care through a contracted PCMP practice. 

PCMPs contract with the RAE based on their brick and mortar location, which is identified by the unique billing ID created during provider revalidation/enrollment. Group practices with multiple locations should contract with all RAEs in which their practices are located. 

Providers who are currently contracted with a RAE, as well as providers that are interested in joining the provider network, will need to establish a new contract with one or more RAEs for ACC Phase III. Information for each RAE is available on the ACC Phase III webpage. 

PCMP Resources:

Behavioral Health Providers

Last Updated: April 2025

All behavioral health providers who want to receive reimbursement for providing services covered by the capitated behavioral health benefit must be enrolled as a Health First Colorado provider and be contracted and credentialed directly by the RAEs. Behavioral Health providers are encouraged to contract with multiple RAEs to promote a statewide behavioral health network.  

Providers who are currently contracted with a RAE, as well as providers that are interested in joining the provider network, will need to establish a new contract with one or more RAEs for ACC Phase III. Information for each RAE is available on the ACC Phase III webpage. 

Behavioral Health providers that should be part of the RAE network include: 

  • Comprehensive Community Behavioral Health Providers (Comprehensive Providers) 
  • Essential Behavioral Health Safety Net Providers (Essential Providers) 
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers 
  • Hospitals including psychiatric hospitals 
  • Independent providers 
  • Non-physician practitioner groups 
  • Providers employed by a Primary Care Medical Provider 
  • Rural Health Centers 
  • Substance Use Disorder providers  

While the RAEs are required to contract with certain federally defined essential community providers, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers, the RAEs have the authority to determine which providers they contract into their network.

Behavioral Health Provider Resources:

Behavioral Health Independent Provider Network  
The Behavioral Health Independent Provider Network (IPN) Collaborative was created for behavioral health providers to engage with and partner collaboratively with HCPF and the RAEs). HCPF published frequently asked questions and answers about key behavioral health initiatives and policies that may impact the IPN. Please visit our IPN Collaborative webpage for additional information.

Statewide Standardized Utilization Management Guidelines 
HCPF and the RAEs worked together to create uniform statewide utilization management standards for assessing for the most appropriate level of care for children and youth referred for residential treatment. These level of care guidelines were developed as a companion to national utilization management standards used by the RAEs to authorize behavioral health services. RAEs were required to begin using these guidelines in their utilization management processes as of July 1, 2023. 

Currently, the Statewide Standardized Utilization Management (SSUM) Guidelines have information related to residential services – both Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP) and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF). This document will continue to be edited/added to as the RAEs work to create guidelines for additional levels of care. 

  • Colorado Statewide Standardized UM (SSUM) Guidelines: English  l  Spanish

Managed Care Organizations

Last Updated: April 2025

Some Health First Colorado members may be enrolled in Elevate (Denver Health) Medicaid Choice or Rocky Mountain Health Plans PRIME, managed care organizations that operate full-risk, capitated physical health plans. To receive reimbursement for delivering services to members who are enrolled with either managed care plan, providers must be contracted with and bill the appropriate entity. Providers cannot request fee-for-service reimbursement from HCPF for members enrolled in either managed care plan.

Want to become a Medicaid Provider? Start here.

Last Updated: April 2025

As a Health First Colorado provider, you have the opportunity to improve the health and well-being of more than a million Coloradans. Health First Colorado is more than health insurance, it is a vital public service that helps almost one in five Colorado citizens stay healthy or move towards better health. Once enrolled with Health First Colorado, primary care providers have the opportunity to participate in the ACC. PCMPs that participate in the ACC receive practice support, member-level health data, help coordinating both medical and non-medical care for their members and additional payments for supporting quality and health outcomes for enrolled members. 

Find out more information and complete the provider enrollment forms on the HCPF Provider Enrollment webpage.

ACC Program Performance