Coloradans on Medicaid are receiving emails and letters notifying them they might have to meet new work requirements in order to stay on the government health insurance program.
The state Medicaid division said it is sending the letters “proactively” to Coloradans affected by the new federal rules, which require proof of work or “community engagement” in order to avoid losing coverage.
The new federal rules go into effect Jan. 1 and could impact 377,000 of Colorado’s 1.1 million people with Medicaid, also called Health First Colorado. The rules also require people to prove they are eligible for their coverage every six months instead of every year.
“If you don’t tell us about work or other activities, or show that you do not need to comply with work requirements, you could lose Health First Colorado,” warns the letter, which will go out via mail, as well as email and text, from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
Those affected by the new federal rules, part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” earn $20,815 or less per year as an individual or $42,760 or less for a family of four.
People who are pregnant, 18 and younger, and 65 and older are exempt from the work requirements. Parents who are taking care of a child age 13 or younger, or a family member with a disability, are also exempt.
People affected will have to report that they worked, volunteered or attended school for at least 80 hours per month, under the new rules.
Not everyone who receives a letter has to comply with the new requirements, said Gretchen Hammer, executive director of the state healthcare department. “But we want all potentially impacted Health First Colorado members to know about these significant federal changes well before they take effect,” she said in a news release.
State Medicaid officials urged people to use an online screener tool to see whether they must meet the requirements. Those who receive a letter from the healthcare department should not ignore it, they said.
“Members who are subject to the requirements will lose their coverage if they are not in compliance or fail to provide information showing they are exempt,” the department said.
Medicaid members who are not signed up to receive notices via email or text were encouraged to do so at CO.gov/PEAK.
Besides federal cuts to the Medicaid program, Colorado made its own cuts to programs for people with disabilities and low incomes as lawmakers dealt with a $1.5 billion budget shortfall this year.