The Office of eHealth Innovation, in partnership with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, is awarding $18 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through the ARPA HCBS 6.06 Grant Program, also known as Dollars to Digitize. Eligible Medicaid-enrolled Home and Community-based services (HCBS) and Behavioral Health providers can apply for up to $500,000 for the adoption, implementation, and/or upgrade of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other digital tools and technology that will enhance, improve, and strengthen delivery of services to Health First Colorado members. Examples of eligible expenses included in the grant program include EHRs, telehealth systems, and technical assistance support.
A unique aspect to the ARPA 6.06 Dollars to Digitize grant program is the multi-phase rollout, beginning with an Intent to Apply form which serves as an initial eligibility screener that conditionally pre-approves eligible providers before they invest a considerable amount of time on the full application, which includes a detailed budget and staffing plan as well as a technical readiness assessment.
A particular focus of this grant opportunity is to ensure equitable access to funding for all eligible providers in Colorado. As of October 25, 2022, 122 providers across the state have been conditionally pre-approved for this grant opportunity. Of the 222 providers who submitted an Intent To Apply form so far:
- 94% are small businesses with 500 employees or less
- 57% are woman-owned
- 4% are veteran-owned
- 30% are minority-owned
- 28% employ people with disabilities
The full application opens November 1st, 2022 and closes on Friday, January 6th, 2023. The OeHI project team hopes to reach a target goal of 200 total applications for the Fall 2022 RFA period. A subsequent application wave is planned for Summer 2023.
To learn more about the ARPA 6.06 Dollars to Digitize grant opportunity, please visit https://hcpf.colorado.gov/arpa/arpa-grant-opportunities#6.06 or contact OeHI at gov.arpa.oehi@state.co.us.
Credit: OeHI Team