Colorado Medicaid waiver guide
Learn how Colorado Medicaid waiver services work, which state agency to start with, how the application process usually begins, and where to search for home and community-based services.
Last reviewed July 2026. See something out of date? Use the “Suggest an edit” button to let us know.
Colorado's Medicaid program is Health First Colorado, administered by the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF). Your local Case Management Agency (CMA) is the front door — it completes the Developmental Disability Determination and opens your waiting list record. Colorado runs several waivers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, but only one of them, the HCBS-DD Waiver, has an active waiting list. That waiver is the one that funds 24/7 residential and day habilitation supports. Two features of Colorado's system matter more than anything else: your place in line is set by the date you were determined to have a developmental disability, and there is a great deal you can access while you wait.
Search by state, city, or ZIP code to compare provider profiles, services, contact details, and verified status.
Adults needing comprehensive support, including 24-hour residential services
Adults living in their own or a family home who need less than 24-hour support
Children with intensive support needs
To qualify for the HCBS-DD Waiver you must have a Developmental Disability Determination completed by your Case Management Agency, be at risk of needing care in a nursing facility, hospital, or intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IID), and meet Health First Colorado financial rules. Importantly, you do not need SSI or Medicaid to be placed on the waiting list — those financial requirements apply when you actually enroll. The HCBS-DD Waiver is an adult program starting at 18; you can join its waiting list from age 14.
Your Case Management Agency completes a formal DD Determination. This is the step that establishes your place in line, so do it as early as you can.
You must be at risk of transition to a nursing facility, hospital, or ICF/IID. The waiver exists to let you stay in the community instead.
You do not need SSI or Medicaid to be placed on the waiting list. Health First Colorado financial requirements apply when you enroll in the waiver, not when you get in line. Do not delay the DD Determination over finances.
The HCBS-DD Waiver serves adults 18 and older. You can join the waiting list from age 14, and between 14 and 18 you are held on the Safety Net list until you become waiver-eligible at 18.
Only the HCBS-DD Waiver has an active waiting list. Your position is set by your placement date — the date you were initially determined to have a developmental disability, or your 14th birthday if you were determined before age 14. Within the list, you pick a timeline that says how soon you want services: As Soon As Available, Date Specific, or Safety Net. People with the As Soon As Available timeline and the oldest placement dates are authorized first.
The CMA is Colorado's front door. It completes the Developmental Disability Determination and opens your waiting list record. (CMAs took over this role from Community Centered Boards under Colorado's case management redesign, so older guidance may still say CCB.)
Open linkThis is the single most consequential step. The date of your determination becomes your placement date on the waiting list — or your 14th birthday, if you were determined before 14. You do not need SSI or Medicaid to do this.
From age 14 you can be placed on the list. Choose As Soon As Available, Date Specific, or Safety Net. Between 14 and 18 you are on Safety Net until you are waiver-eligible at 18.
You may be eligible for one of nine other waivers, the Family Support Services Program (FSSP), or State Supported Living Services. Ask your CMA specifically about these — waiting for HCBS-DD does not mean going without support.
Open linkWhen your name comes up you have 30 calendar days to accept or decline, and you can request another 30 days in writing. If you decline, you keep your placement date — your record simply moves to the Safety Net timeline, and your CMA can switch it back to As Soon As Available whenever you are ready.
Exact covered services depend on the waiver, assessed need, Medicaid rules, funding, and state program requirements. Confirm services, availability, and payment acceptance with the state, support coordinator, and provider.
Colorado offers Consumer Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS) and In-Home Support Services (IHSS), which let participants hire, train, and manage their own attendants rather than going through an agency. Ask your case manager which option fits the waiver you enroll in.
Approved waiver services are paid by Health First Colorado (Colorado Medicaid). Once enrolled there is generally little or no direct cost for covered services.
Financial eligibility applies at enrollment, not at waiting list placement. Families sometimes delay the DD Determination because they assume they earn too much — that delay costs placement date, which is the one thing that cannot be recovered later.
In residential settings, the waiver pays for services but not for room and board, which is typically covered by the person's own income such as SSI. Your case manager can walk through what that looks like.
Colorado's Early Intervention program serves children under 3. The Children's Extensive Support (CES) Waiver serves children with intensive needs under 18.
Age 14 is when you can join the HCBS-DD waiting list, and if the DD Determination happened earlier your placement date is set to your 14th birthday. Families who wait until high school graduation to start have already given up years of queue position.
Between 14 and 18 you are held on the Safety Net list because HCBS-DD is an adult waiver. Your placement date is still accruing; only the years from 18 onward count toward wait time.
At 18 you become eligible for the HCBS-DD and SLS waivers, and Medicaid financial eligibility is generally assessed on the person's own income. Ask your CMA to move your timeline to As Soon As Available if you want to enroll.
If a determination or service is denied, reduced, or ended, you have the right to appeal and to request a state fair hearing within the deadline on your notice. Declining an enrollment authorization is not an appeal issue — you keep your placement date automatically. Disability Law Colorado is the state's protection and advocacy organization and provides free help.
Protection & Advocacy organization for Colorado
1-800-531-2105Visit siteState Medicaid agency — waiver policy, waiting lists, and enrollment
Visit siteYour front door — DD Determination, waiting list record, and case management
Visit siteMedicaid eligibility and enrollment questions
1-800-221-3943Visit siteFree disability rights and appeals help
1-800-531-2105Visit siteLocal help & referrals — dial 211
Visit siteBy your placement date — the date you were initially determined to have a developmental disability, or your 14th birthday if that determination happened before you turned 14. Nothing else moves you up or down, which is why getting the DD Determination done early matters so much.
On average about 8 years before an enrollment authorization, counting only years from age 18 onward. 78% of people on the list are between 20 and 39.
No. You do not need SSI or Medicaid to be placed on the waiting list. Financial requirements apply when you enroll in the waiver. Families who delay the DD Determination over income concerns give up placement date they can never get back.
You keep your placement date. Your record moves to the Safety Net timeline, and whenever you are ready your CMA can switch it back to As Soon As Available — you return to the list at your original placement date, not the back of the line.
No. Residential Habilitation includes both Group Residential Services and Supports (GRSS) and Individual Residential Services and Supports (IRSS), and those settings can include the family home or an independent apartment.
Often yes. You may qualify for one of nine other waivers, the Family Support Services Program, or State Supported Living Services. Ask your Case Management Agency about each by name.
To qualify for the HCBS-DD Waiver you must have a Developmental Disability Determination completed by your Case Management Agency, be at risk of needing care in a nursing facility, hospital, or intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IID), and meet Health First Colorado financial rules. Importantly, you do not need SSI or Medicaid to be placed on the waiting list — those financial requirements apply when you actually enroll. The HCBS-DD Waiver is an adult program starting at 18; you can join its waiting list from age 14.
find your case management agency, complete the developmental disability determination, ask to be placed on the waiting list and choose a timeline, get services while you wait, then enroll and choose providers. Start with Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing.
Covered services vary by waiver and assessed need, and commonly include in-home supports, respite, supported employment, day services, behavior support, residential supports. Confirm specifics with the state and provider.
Only the HCBS-DD Waiver has an active waiting list. Your position is set by your placement date — the date you were initially determined to have a developmental disability, or your 14th birthday if you were determined before age 14. Within the list, you pick a timeline that says how soon you want services: As Soon As Available, Date Specific, or Safety Net. People with the As Soon As Available timeline and the oldest placement dates are authorized first.
Approved waiver services are generally covered by Medicaid at little or no direct cost once enrolled, though some enrollees may owe a monthly patient responsibility based on income.
HCPF's detailed FAQ on placement dates, timeline categories, enrollment authorizations, and what you can access while waiting.
ColoradoThe waiver that funds 24-hour residential and day habilitation supports.
ColoradoCompare the waivers you may qualify for while waiting for HCBS-DD.
ColoradoFree protection and advocacy services, including appeals help.
ColoradoFind waiver providers and services in Colorado on Waiverly.
Want to deliver these services instead? How to become a waiver provider in Colorado
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