Kaiser Permanente Colorado said Monday it has notified about 2,500 patients that it will no longer serve as a Medicaid provider in some areas of the state.nnKaiser Permanente stopped providing health services as a Medicaid provider in its northern, southern and mountain service areas on June 30. It will continue providing care to Medicaid patients in the Denver-Boulder area.nnKaiser Permanente said it made the changes in Medicaid services because it is committed to seeing Medicaid and the second phase of the state’s Medicaid Accountable Care Collaborative succeed.nn“This was a difficult decision, but we feel it is the best way we can support the new program at this time,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement. “We will closely monitor the progress of Phase 2 and re-evaluate our participation in Medicaid on an annual basis.”nnMedicaid is a government health care program for low-income adults and children.nnThe Accountable Care Collaborative is a health care program that is part of Health First Colorado, the state’s Medicaid program. The second phase of the collaborative involves initiatives, such as the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing contracting a regional entity to coordinate physical and behavioral health for enrolled members.nn n
nThis article was originally posted on denverpost.com