Medicaid Assisted Living in Colorado Springs: Where the ACFs Are

How Medicaid assisted living works in Colorado

Colorado does not pay assisted living rent through Medicaid. Instead, the Elderly, Blind and Disabled waiver pays for personal care in residences that the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing certifies as Alternative Care Facilities. CDPHE's records code these residences ALR/ACF.

The resident pays room and board, capped at $810.00 a month in 2026 under HCPF's IM 25-030, and keeps a personal needs allowance of $184.00 to $435.46 a month. To qualify, income must be at or below $2,982 a month and countable resources at or below $2,000, and the person must meet nursing facility level of care.

Where the certified residences are

Source: CDPHE Health Facilities data updated September 29, 2026 and Find and Compare records retrieved November 6, 2026.

Most ACFs are small homes: the median certified residence has 11 beds, against 31 for all senior residences. The east side of Colorado Springs holds the largest cluster.

Getting from private pay to Medicaid

Start six months before savings run out. Ask your parent's residence whether it is an ACF and whether a private-pay resident can stay after converting. Then contact The Resource Exchange, the case management agency for El Paso, Park, Pueblo and Teller counties, at 719-380-1100, and apply for Health First Colorado through PEAK or the county.

If the current residence is not certified, plan a move while there is time to choose. Certification does not guarantee an open Medicaid bed, so call several ACFs and ask about waiting lists.

What families should check at an ACF

Read the CDPHE record on the residence's page: inspections, citations and occurrence reports. Ask how many Medicaid residents live there, what the private-pay rate is for the same room, and whether the residence charges anything above the capped room and board. Visit at a mealtime; a small home's kitchen tells you a lot.

A budget example for an EBD waiver resident

Consider a widow whose only income is $1,400 a month in Social Security and who has spent her savings down to less than $2,000. In an ACF she would pay the 2026 room and board of $810.00 and keep a personal needs allowance, with the rest of her income applied toward care under the waiver rules. Health First Colorado would pay the residence for her personal care. The exact split depends on her income and the case manager's calculation.

Compare that with the Colorado median for private-pay assisted living of about $6,584 a month. For residents with modest income, ACF certification is the difference between staying in assisted living and moving to a nursing home.

What to ask before relying on an ACF bed

Ask how many Medicaid residents the residence has and how many it will accept, whether there is a waiting list, whether Medicaid residents share rooms, and whether any extra charges apply beyond room and board. Ask what happens if Medicaid approval takes longer than expected; some residences will hold a bed while the application is pending and others will not.

Finally, ask the residence's experience with The Resource Exchange. Residences that work with the case management agency often can tell you how long assessments and service plans are taking right now.

Common mistakes that delay Medicaid in assisted living

The most common is waiting until the money is gone. Applications take time, and a residence may not hold an apartment while a resident owes rent. The second is gifting money to family within the five-year look-back, which can create a penalty period. The third is choosing a residence that is not ACF-certified and then having to move a frail parent at the worst moment.

Avoid all three by asking the right questions at move-in: Is this residence an ACF? How many Medicaid residents does it accept? What happens when a private-pay resident spends down? Get the answers in writing, and keep receipts for every dollar spent on care.