We have an urgent message- music therapy in Colorado is at incredible risk.

The short ‘why’: Many music therapy (MT) clients in the state of Colorado rely on state medicaid waivers for MT coverage. The state plans to cut reimbursement rates by a combined 40%, with an implementation date of 5-7 months from now. Margins are already tight when it comes to music therapy services- music therapy practices will go under, or choose to no longer provide services under Medicaid waivers. Resonate will, unfortunately, be one of those practices. We’ve worked incredibly hard to be a fiscally responsible small business, pour back into our community, and provide high-quality services, but none of that will matter if these cuts are implemented.

Please help us by submitting comments directly to the state through their provided form, linked below. Under ‘Which LTSS Sustainability Action(s) Is Your Comment About?’, select ‘Reduce Movement Therapy to Align with Rate Methodology’.

The longer ‘why’:

The passage of H.R.1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) left states with a significant budget shortfall. Medicaid makes up a significant part of the CO state budget, and they have some incredibly hard decisions to make in order to remain financially viable. Music therapy under certain state Medicaid waivers (please note that music therapy falls under a ‘movement therapy’ category by the State, and is solely referred to as movement therapy by the state): these are services for individuals with significant support needs. It is NOT EASY to qualify for a waiver.

Music therapy has been an established service under these waivers for decades, and we’ve made a transformative difference in the lives of the individuals and families we work with. We help clients reach important life goals through music-based interventions, whether those goals are physical, cognitive, regulatory, or social/emotional. Music therapists are trained, with a minimum of a four-year degree in music therapy, a subsequent 1,200 clinical training hours, after which they’re eligible to sit for the board exam for music therapists. Many music therapists in CO have their master’s degrees in music therapy, specifically because of how medicaid waivers reimburse for services.

Under the waivers, music therapists with a bachelor’s degree are reimbursed less than those with a master’s degree.Many practices, Resonate included, already can’t afford to hire bachelor’s level therapists working under this funding source, as it’s unsustainable pay for the practice and the employee alike. Most MT practices already only hire master’s level MT’s, for this specific reason. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has identified that specifically, master’s-level music therapy reimbursement rates don’t currently align with the Department’s ‘standardized rate-setting methodology’. They plan, therefore, to cut reimbursement rates by -8.63-9.75% for bachelor’s level MT, and -27.38-29% for master’s level MT. (Please note that their site currently says the deduction is -39% but their identified new rate is reflective of a -29% cut).

At Resonate, our therapists are W2 employees with health insurance benefits, PTO, a unified pay rate for direct client hours as well as all admin time, and a 401k match. We would lose money for every session completed if these cuts are approved. A master’s level clinician should make money commensurate with their expertise and training. We understand hard choices must be made. We ask HCPF to consider if there are options that value providers and clients while still saving where needed, such as a utilization cap on MT services (one of the steps they’re proposing for other services). Their plan of drastic cuts will save money in the short term (as utilization will certainly decrease since very few providers will offer this service under these rates), but will effectively eliminate a valuable support for clients who need it. This will ultimately increase costs. These waivers are specifically designed to decrease the need for more intensive (and expensive) placements outside of the client’s natural community, and cutting waiver supports will not result in the long-term savings they’re working towards.

As a reminder, you can help HCPF understand the full ramifications of these rate cuts for music therapy by submitting comments directly to the state through their provided form, linked below.

Under ‘Which LTSS Sustainability Action(s) Is Your Comment About?’, select ‘Reduce Movement Therapy to Align with Rate Methodology’. Your public comment to HCPF could be in reference to your experience with MT and its value, or asking them to consider other cost-saving actions outside of a drastic cut that devalues providers, and will make it impossible for providers to continue accepting Medicaid waiver clients.