Colorado Medicaid Planning

Key Takeaways:

• Colorado long-term care Medicaid caps a single applicant at $2,000 in countable assets.
  
• Gifts made within 5 years of applying can delay Medicaid eligibility.
  
• New Leaf Legacy builds Medicaid plans around your family’s goals and timeline.

A private nursing home room in Colorado averaged more than $10,000 a month in 2023. Medicare pays for very little of that, and most families don’t carry long-term care insurance. For many, Health First Colorado becomes the payer, but only after the applicant meets strict asset, income, and transfer rules.

New Leaf Legacy’s Colorado Medicaid planning attorneys work with you before a care crisis or in the middle of one. We structure assets, income, and legal documents so coverage can start when care is needed.

Book a free consultation to see where your family stands.

What Health First Colorado Reviews Before It Pays for Care

Colorado Medicaid planning attorneys start with the same four tests the state applies to every long-term care application:

• Countable assets. A single applicant can keep $2,000 in countable resources. The home and one vehicle are usually excluded, within limits.
  
• Monthly income. The 2026 limit is $2,982 a month, which is 300% of the federal SSI benefit. Applicants above it need an irrevocable income trust, often called a Miller trust.
  
• The 5-year look-back. The state reviews transfers made in the 60 months before you apply. Gifts and below-market sales can create a period of ineligibility.
  
• Medical need. A case management agency assesses whether you need a nursing facility level of care. That standard applies whether you’ll receive care at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home.
  

Applications run through county human services offices, and the process varies. Jefferson County, for example, asks families not to use the PEAK website for long-term care applications or renewals.

Early Mistakes That Can Delay Medicaid Eligibility

Most eligibility problems start with a decision made months or years before anyone applies.

Moving money to the kids. Transfers inside the look-back window can trigger a penalty period. That penalty doesn’t begin until the applicant has spent down and needs care, which can leave a family with no way to pay the facility in the meantime.

Relying on an older power of attorney. Under Colorado law, the general powers given to an agent don’t include the power to create an income trust. If a parent can no longer sign and their power of attorney doesn’t expressly grant that power, the application can stall.

Assuming the spouse at home must spend down too. When only one spouse needs care, Medicaid rules let the other spouse keep a protected share of the couple’s assets. In some cases, part of the applicant’s income can go to the spouse at home as well.

Waiting for a diagnosis. Planning years ahead gives the look-back rules time to pass. Planning during a crisis is still possible, though the available options are narrower.

We review each of these issues at the first meeting so the plan fits the timeline you have.

How Our Colorado Medicaid Planning Attorneys Approach Your Case

Richard Vincent brings decades of elder law practice to our Medicaid planning work. He is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation and a past chair of the Colorado Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee.

Richard is also a contributing author to The Colorado Handbook of Elder Law and has lectured often on long-term care Medicaid planning and special needs trusts.

Our process starts with listening. We learn who depends on you, what you want to leave behind, and what kind of care you’d choose if you needed it. Then we put the legal pieces in place, which often means coordinating Medicaid planning with your estate plan, trusts, and property deeds.

Our team serves families across the Front Range from our Greenwood Village office, and we’re licensed in Colorado and Missouri.

Start Your Medicaid Plan While You Still Have Options

Every month of private-pay care draws down savings that a spouse or child may depend on later. A plan made early gives the look-back rules time to work in your favor, and a plan made during a crisis can still change what’s left.

The sooner Colorado Medicaid planning attorneys review your situation, the more choices you keep.

Book a free consultation today.