How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in Colorado

Becoming a PASA — a Program Approved Service Agency — is the route to delivering direct community-based services to Coloradans with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Medicaid waivers. The structure to plan around is that CDPHE and HCPF each run their own application and neither one alone can clear you to bill. CDPHE reviews your paperwork and then comes to see you in person; HCPF issues the final decision but only on CDPHE's recommendation. The two agencies do not share a portal — CDPHE cannot see inside HCPF's system — so if you have an enrollment question, asking the wrong agency gets you nothing but a redirect.

Start with a Letter of Intent to CDPHE, which triggers the formal application. Once your packet is reviewed you get an on-site survey, and only then do you move to HCPF enrollment.

Application system: CDPHE PASA Program Information & Documents

1. Send a Letter of Intent to CDPHE

   The process begins with a Letter of Intent. Once CDPHE receives it, the department sends you the formal PASA Application — you do not download and file it on your own initiative.

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2. Submit the completed PASA application packet

   Allow 10 business days for CDPHE to review and process a completed packet. The submission requirements, minimum provider qualifications, and policy and procedure guidance are published in advance, so a packet that meets them moves faster.

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3. Pass the CDPHE on-site health survey

   When the paperwork review is complete, CDPHE conducts an on-site health survey. This is the substantive gate — your written policies have to match what a surveyor finds in the building.

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4. Complete HCBS provider enrollment training

   Evidence of completing the HCBS provider enrollment training is uploaded with your supporting documents when you submit the HCPF application. Do it before you file, not after.

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5. Enroll through the HCPF Provider Web Portal

   Register in the portal and attach your CDPHE certifications. HCPF has final approval authority but requires CDPHE's recommendation before it acts.

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Colorado does not publish these in a form we could verify, so we have not guessed at them. Ask directly — and if an answer here would help other providers, tell us and we will add it with its source.

• What is the total realistic elapsed time from Letter of Intent to being able to bill, and is there a fee at either agency?

  Ask: CDPHE PASA program

• How often is a PASA re-surveyed, and does the approval need periodic renewal?

  Ask: CDPHE PASA program

• What background check and staff qualification requirements apply to your specific service types?

  Ask: CDPHE — see the Provider Minimum Qualification Requirements document

• How often does HCPF require Medicaid revalidation in Colorado?

  Ask: HCPF through its Fiscal Agent — CDPHE cannot answer portal questions