Frequently Asked Questions

How you sign up depends on the type of coverage you get:

• For Health First Colorado (Medicaid) and the Medicaid Adult Buy-In, you can apply:
  • Online on the Colorado PEAK website
  • With a paper application (available in English, Spanish, or large print). Fill it out and return it by mail, fax, or in person at your county human services department, or
  • By phone at 1-800-221-3943.
• For Medicare, you automatically get coverage if you’ve been getting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for two years. Otherwise, you may need to sign up.
• For employer-sponsored coverage, talk to your employer’s Human Resources department.
• For individual coverage, apply at Connect for Health Colorado. Connect for Health Colorado first checks if you qualify for Health First Colorado (Medicaid) and, if not, lets you compare individual plans and see if the government will help with tax credits.

You can qualify for Health First Colorado (Medicaid) if your family’s income qualifies, even if your job offers insurance.

You cannot get subsidies for purchasing an individual health plan through Connect for Health Colorado if your job offers you affordable insurance.

In most cases, no. The actual medical coverage you get from Health First Colorado (Medicaid) is the same, no matter how you qualify. Generally speaking, the big difference is that people with disabilities get extra ways to qualify and, if you have a disability and start working, you can earn a lot more while still getting Health First Colorado (Medicaid) coverage through the Medicaid Adult Buy-In.

For income-based Health First Colorado (Medicaid), the main income rules are:

1. If your family’s income is at or under 138% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) ($20,783 per year for an individual; $43,056 for a family of four), you may qualify.
2. If you are 18 or younger and your family’s income is at or under 260% of FPG ($81,120 per year for a family of four), you may qualify for Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+).
3. If you are pregnant and your family’s income is at or under 260% of FPG ($81,120 per year for a family of four), you may qualify. The unborn baby is counted as a family member.

Income-based Health First Colorado (Medicaid), sometimes called "Medicaid expansion," is based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which includes most of your earned and unearned income. MAGI doesn't include some types of income, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and some contributions to retirement accounts. Learn more about what types of income affect income-based Health First Colorado (Medicaid) eligibility.

If you have a disability, you may be able to get Health First Colorado (Medicaid) coverage if your income is a lot higher than this, thanks to the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program For Working Adults With Disabilities (Medicaid Adult Buy-In). Learn more about the Medicaid Adult Buy-In.

Health Coverage Income Limits for Your Family

Your family size:	123456789101112
Income limits for your family:
	$15,060
	$5,380
	$15,060
	$5,380
Income-based Health First CO (Medicaid), adults (138% FPG)
Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) (260% FPG)
Subsidized private plans, reduced fees (250% FPG)
Subsidized private plans (no income limit)	--
If your family's income is at or below the limit for a program, you may qualify if you meet other program rules. Notes: Some types of income do not count against these limits, including SSI benefits. Different programs sometimes use slightly different numbers for the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Disability-based Health First Colorado (Medicaid) eligibility is not included here. For private plans with subsidies, your monthly premium amount depends on your income.

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It depends on your situation:

• Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for full Health First Colorado (Medicaid) coverage, but may qualify for Emergency Health First Colorado (Medicaid).
• Most immigrants who have been lawfully present for less than five years do not qualify for full Health First Colorado (Medicaid) coverage. However, they may qualify for private coverage subsidized by the government.
• Immigrants who have been lawfully present for five years or longer and some other noncitizens who meet specific noncitizen requirements qualify for the same programs that U.S. citizens can get.

There are different health coverage options as your income goes up:

• Depending on how much your income goes up, your Health First Colorado (Medicaid) may continue, unchanged.
• If you got Supplemental Security Income (SSI) before you started earning more, you can usually keep Health First Colorado (Medicaid) thanks to SSI’s 1619(b) rule.
• If you have a disability and work, you can also consider the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program For Working Adults With Disabilities (Medicaid Adult Buy-In), which offers Health First Colorado (Medicaid) coverage (you may have to pay a monthly premium). With it, you could earn as much as $11,380 per month ($136,560 per year!) and still qualify. And there's no resource limit, so it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank or in other resources.
• If your employer offers it, you may be able to get employer-sponsored coverage.
• If your employer does not offer coverage, you should consider private individual coverage. You may get government help to pay for an individual plan on Connect for Health Colorado. Note: There is no income limit for getting subsidies that help pay individual coverage premiums. (Before 2021, the limit was 400% of FPG.) To get subsidies, you still must meet other eligibility rules and the premium amount you pay depends on your income and your plan.

The bottom line: There is a coverage option for almost everybody. Do not worry that getting a job will leave you without health coverage.

To qualify for the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program For Working Adults With Disabilities (Medicaid Adult Buy-In) program, you must:

• Be 16 years old or older
• Live in Colorado
• Be a U.S. citizen or a qualified immigrant
• Be working
• Have a disability that meets Social Security’s medical standards.
  • Note: For the Medicaid Adult Buy-In, SSA’s disability rules related to income do not apply.
• Have countable income at or below $5,648 per month for individuals.
  • The Medicaid Adult Buy-In counts your money the same way as SSI does: almost all of your unearned income is counted, but less than half of your earned income is counted. That means, you could earn as much as $11,380 per month ($136,560 per year!) and still qualify.
    
  • Only your income is counted, not the income of other household members.

If you have Medicaid Adult Buy-In coverage, you may have to pay a $0 to $200 premium each month (the higher your income, the higher your premium).

Learn more about the Medicaid Adult Buy-In.

Medicare has three main parts:

• Medicare Part A helps pay for medical care you get while you’re in a hospital.
• Medicare Part B helps pay for medical care you get outside of a hospital.
• Medicare Part D helps pay for prescription drugs.

Medicare Advantage (also called Medicare Part C) is a way to get a single combined plan including Parts A, B, and D through a private company. With Medicare Advantage plans, you may have less flexibility, but your costs could be lower.

If you or your spouse worked enough time while paying Medicare taxes, you qualify for Medicare Parts A and B:

• When you turn 65
• When you’ve been getting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for two years, or
• If you have Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS) or end-stage kidney disease (ESRD).

Note: If your disability began before you turned 22 years old and you get Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB) benefits for two years based on a parent’s work record, you start getting Medicare.

No. Medicare only helps pay for care that it considers reasonable and necessary. If you need a service that Medicare doesn’t cover, you have to pay for it yourself, unless you have other coverage, such as Health First Colorado (Medicaid), employer-sponsored coverage, or a Medicare supplement (Medigap) policy.

For certain services, you pay a deductible, copayment, or co-insurance before Medicare begins to help pay for that service. For Medicare Part B or Part D, or for Medicare Advantage, you may have to pay a monthly premium.

You may qualify to get help paying for your Medicare premiums, copayments, and deductibles if you have low income. Health First Colorado (Medicaid), the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program For Working Adults With Disabilities (Medicaid Adult Buy-In), and Medicare Savings Programs may help you pay for Part B coverage, and the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) may help pay for Part D coverage.

Yes. Other coverage that you can have with Medicare include:

• Health First Colorado (Medicaid)
• The Medicaid Adult Buy-In
• Employer-sponsored coverage
• Continued coverage through COBRA
• Retirement plans
• Veterans (VA) benefits
• Military (TriCare for Life) benefits, or
• Individual health insurance.

Learn more about how Medicare interacts with other types of coverage.

You may pay nothing, a percentage of the cost, or whatever amount your employer doesn't pay.

Employers are supposed to offer plans that cost the employee, for the employee’s policy alone, less than 8.39% of the employee’s household income for the monthly premium. Also, that coverage must meet a certain benefits level for copayment, co-insurance, and deductible expenses.

If your employer offers a plan that does not meet these standards, you may qualify for government help through tax subsidies to reduce the premium on an individual plan.

Note: The coverage your employer offers must meet affordability standards for the employee, but not for the family. It may be very expensive for family members to join an employer-sponsored health plan. Before 2023, the spouse or children of an employee would not qualify for subsidies on Connect for Health Colorado if the employer offered coverage that was affordable for the employee's policy alone, even if the cost to add the rest of the family wasn't affordable. This was called the "family glitch." This changed starting in 2023. Learn more about affordability rules for family members and how it affects eligibility for tax credits on Connect for Health Colorado.

Yes, if you are under 26, you can be covered by your parent's insurance plan. Employers who offer coverage to their employees must also offer it to their children under the age of 26.

Employers do not have to offer coverage to the spouses of employees, but many do.

Note: While employers must offer this coverage to children, the employee may be required to pay for all of it.

Yes. Plans cannot deny people coverage. When you apply for insurance, they cannot reject your application and they cannot say that they won’t cover medical needs related to your disability. They also cannot charge you more because you have a disability.

Depending on your situation, you may qualify to have the government help pay for your individual health plan through tax credits. Here's how it works:

1. When you sign up at Connect for Health Colorado, you give details about your family's situation. Connect for Health Colorado reviews that information instantly. If your family qualifies for government help to pay for individual coverage, Connect for Health Colorado tells you and lists insurance options for you.
2. Your insurance options list the full cost of the monthly premium, how much of that premium the government pays each month, and how much you pay each month. The government helps pay for the premium by giving you a tax credit every month, so you don't have to think about it during the year. All you have to do is make sure you keep paying your part of the premium.
3. In January or February, the government sends you a form listing your total health coverage tax credits for the previous year. You need this form at tax time, because it is possible the government paid more or less than it should have for your health coverage. If so, this is sorted out when you file your taxes.

No, but depending on your income, you may get more help from the government if you get a silver-level plan:

• The government may help pay for your premium through tax credits. That means you would pay less each month. You might get this help no matter what metal your plan is.
• If you make 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) or less and get a silver plan, the government also pays to reduce your copayments, co-insurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum. That means you pay less each time you need medical services. If you get this help, your silver plan might actually be as good or better than many platinum or gold plans. If you do not get a silver plan, the government does not help you with these expenses.

When Connect for Health Colorado looks at your income, they count most of your earned and unearned income. However, some income is not counted, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and some contributions to retirement accounts. Learn more about what types of income affect whether you get help paying for individual coverage.

Health Coverage Income Limits for Your Family

Your family size:	123456789101112
Income limits for your family:
	$15,060
	$5,380
	$15,060
	$5,380
Income-based Health First CO (Medicaid), adults (138% FPG)
Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) (260% FPG)
Subsidized private plans, reduced fees (250% FPG)
Subsidized private plans (no income limit)	--
If your family's income is at or below the limit for a program, you may qualify if you meet other program rules. Notes: Some types of income do not count against these limits, including SSI benefits. Different programs sometimes use slightly different numbers for the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Disability-based Health First Colorado (Medicaid) eligibility is not included here. For private plans with subsidies, your monthly premium amount depends on your income.

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Usually, when you sign up for a plan through Connect for Health Colorado, you need to stay on the plan for the entire calendar year. So, if you are signed up for 2024, then you can’t leave that plan until 2025.

However, in certain situations you may be able to change plans mid-year:

• If your income changes and you gain or lose eligibility for government help paying for your coverage
• If you move, or
• In other life-changing circumstances, such as having a child or getting married.

The first one is the key. If your income goes down and you can’t afford your plan anymore, report your change in income to Connect for Health Colorado. You may qualify to get Health First Colorado (Medicaid) or to have the government increase how much it pays for your current insurance (meaning that you have to pay less).

Note: American Indians do not have these restrictions and can change up to once a month.