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Colorado · checked September 2026
How Colorado helps pay for long-term care, who to call when you need help or something's wrong, and how to check a facility before you sign.
The first question
Yes, for the care. Elderly, Blind and Disabled (EBD) Waiver and Alternative Care Facilities (ACF), an EBD waiver service help pay for care in assisted living. Rent and meals are usually still paid by the resident, often from Social Security.
Colorado's Medicaid rules for long-term care, and the programs that pay for care outside a nursing home.
$2,982
2026
300% of the SSI benefit, effective January 1, 2026. Applies to nursing home care, home and community services (such as the EBD waiver) and PACE. If gross income is above this, Colorado requires an Irrevocable Income Trust (Miller trust).
$2,000
2026
$3,000 for a couple. If a spouse lives at home, they may keep up to $162,660 (2026 Community Spouse Resource Allowance).
Colorado uses a hard income cap. People over it can still qualify by putting the extra income into a Qualified Income Trust (a "Miller trust") each month.
Look-back on gifts and transfers: 60 months.
Apply for Health First Colorado
Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF)
Health First Colorado's waiver for people 65+ (or 18 to 64 with a disability) who need nursing home level care. It pays for help at home and for care in an Alternative Care Facility, which is a Medicaid-certified assisted living residence. Start with your local Case Management Agency.
Waitlist: HCPF says waivers sometimes have waitlists but does not state one for EBD.
Medicaid pays an assisted living residence certified as an ACF for personal care, 24-hour oversight and homemaker help. Your parent pays room and board from their own income; in 2026 the facility can charge a Medicaid resident no more than $810 a month for room and board, and your parent keeps a personal needs allowance.
A self-directed option where your parent picks and supervises their own attendants at home, including family members, with support from an agency.
A participant-directed option for people on certain waivers that lets them manage their own attendant support at home.
PACE provides all medical and long-term care for people 55+ who need nursing-home-level care but can live in the community. Programs in Colorado:
Free, and on your side. Start with the aging office if you don't know where to begin.
The state's aging office and its local agencies explain your options, screen for programs and help with applications.
A free, independent advocate for residents of nursing homes and assisted living. Call about any problem with care, rights, billing or a discharge.
You don't need proof to report. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
Unbiased Medicare help from counselors who don't sell anything: plans, bills, appeals, and programs that lower costs.
Help spotting and reporting Medicare fraud, billing errors and scams.
In Colorado, assisted living is licensed as: Assisted Living Residence (ALR). Read inspection reports before you sign anything.
Look up any licensed community and read its inspection reports online.
File a complaint
Medicare rates every nursing home on staffing, inspections and quality, with full inspection reports.
State veterans homes are often far cheaper than private care for eligible veterans and, in many states, their spouses.
Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs
Florence
skilled nursing, memory care
Walsenburg
skilled nursing, memory care
Free legal help for older adults on issues like benefits, housing, powers of attorney and elder abuse.
Can a family member be paid to provide care? Yes, in some programs.
Yes. Through Health First Colorado's In-Home Support Services (IHSS), a person who qualifies can choose and supervise their own attendants, including family members, and those attendants are paid.
Help for people caring for someone 60+: information, counseling, support groups, training, respite breaks, and extras like home changes or emergency response devices.
A state cash benefit for low-income Coloradans 60 and older, up to $1,032 a month in 2026, reduced by other income. Resources must be under $2,000 for a single person. Apply through PEAK or your county human services office.
Yes, for the care part. In Colorado, Elderly, Blind and Disabled (EBD) Waiver and Alternative Care Facilities (ACF), an EBD waiver service can pay for care in assisted living. Rent and meals are generally paid by the resident.
$2,000 for a single person (2026). $3,000 for a couple. If a spouse lives at home, they may keep up to $162,660 (2026 Community Spouse Resource Allowance).
The Colorado Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program: 303-862-3524. It's free and independent.
Researched from 38 sources, official pages first. Last checked .