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FreedomCare helps El Paso County families get paid through Colorado Medicaid for the care they're already giving a parent, sibling, or other loved one at home.
If you are caring for an aging parent in Colorado Springs, a spouse in Fountain, or a family member with a disability in Monument or Falcon, FreedomCare can help you find out whether Colorado Medicaid will pay you for that care. El Paso County families have real options under Health First Colorado and the new Community First Choice (CFC) program that launched July 1, 2025. This page walks through how it works locally, who qualifies, and how a family member can become the paid caregiver.
El Paso County is the most populous county in Colorado, with about 753,000 residents spread across Colorado Springs, Fountain, Monument, Manitou Springs, Falcon, Calhan, Peyton, Security-Widefield, and the surrounding unincorporated areas. The county is anchored by Colorado Springs and shaped by an unusually large military presence: Fort Carson, the United States Air Force Academy, Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases, and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station all sit within or just outside the county. Roughly one in five households in El Paso County includes an active-duty member or veteran, more than twice the state average, which shapes how families think about long-term care and benefits.
El Paso has the second-largest Medicaid enrollment in Colorado. As of December 2025, about 161,712 El Paso County residents are enrolled in Health First Colorado, roughly 21 percent of the county. That includes a significant share of veterans, military spouses, and families with disabled children who are dual-eligible or use Medicaid as a secondary payer alongside Tricare or VA benefits.
For Colorado Springs and the surrounding communities, the local healthcare picture is built around UCHealth Memorial Hospital, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, and Children's Hospital Colorado at Springs. Many El Paso County families come into the CFC conversation right after a hospitalization, a new diagnosis, or a discharge from one of these systems. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging works closely with local providers and is set up to help families work through next steps without losing time.
Home care in El Paso County tends to follow one of three patterns: an agency-delivered model where a licensed home care provider sends out a caregiver, consumer-directed care through CDASS where the member fully manages their own caregiver, or self-directed care with IHSS agency support. FreedomCare operates as an IHSS agency in Colorado. We work with El Paso County families who want a relative or trusted person to be the paid caregiver while keeping a licensed agency in the loop for payroll, training, and compliance.
Colorado runs Medicaid through Health First Colorado, the state's name for its Medicaid program. If you qualify, you can receive long-term services and supports (LTSS) at home instead of in a nursing facility. The main pathway for that is Community First Choice, a Health First Colorado state plan benefit that went live on July 1, 2025.
CFC covers personal care (help with activities of daily living, or ADLs, like bathing, dressing, mobility, and toileting), homemaker services (light cleaning, laundry, meal preparation), and health maintenance activities like medication reminders. To qualify, you need to be enrolled in Health First Colorado and meet what the state calls a nursing facility level of care, which means your care needs are significant enough that you would otherwise qualify for placement in a facility. A local Case Management Agency or Single Entry Point agency makes that determination.
CFC replaced and expanded what used to live inside several Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers. If you are already on an HCBS waiver, you do not lose anything. At your next Continued Stay Review, your case manager moves you over to CFC for the services that have transitioned. Waiver-based access to those specific services ends June 30, 2026, and after that, CFC becomes the only pathway. You can still keep waiver-only services like respite or specialized therapies that have not moved.
CFC gives families three ways to receive care:
Both CDASS and IHSS let you hire a family member, friend, or trusted person you already know. The rules around who can be paid vary slightly, and there are specific limits for what Colorado calls Legally Responsible Persons (spouses, and parents of minor children). Those caregivers can be paid in some cases, but only for services beyond their existing legal obligation and within hour caps set by HCPF. We walk through the specifics with each family during enrollment.
| Pathway | How It Works | Who It Tends to Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Community First Choice (CFC) | A Health First Colorado state plan benefit launched July 1, 2025. Covers personal care, homemaker, and health maintenance services for members who meet a nursing facility level of care. | Anyone enrolled in Health First Colorado who needs care equivalent to a nursing home but wants to stay home. |
| Standard Medicaid home care (agency-based) | Care delivered by a licensed home care agency. The agency hires, trains, schedules, and pays the caregivers assigned to you. | Members who prefer an agency to handle everything and assign a caregiver. |
| Family caregiver pathways (CDASS and IHSS) | Two self-direction options inside CFC. You choose your own caregiver, including a family member or friend, and manage their schedule and tasks. CDASS is fully member-directed with a Financial Management Services vendor. IHSS gives you support from a licensed IHSS agency that helps with payroll, training, and oversight. | Families who want a relative or trusted person to provide care, with the program handling pay and compliance. |
This is the part that surprises most families: in Colorado, the person you care for usually gets to choose you. Medicaid does not require an outside aide. Under CDASS and IHSS, the member is in charge of their own care, which means they can hire a son, daughter, sibling, niece, friend, or neighbor instead of being assigned a stranger.
You are not applying for a job. You are stepping into a caregiving role you may already be filling. The program brings structure, pay, training, and support to work you are likely doing for free right now. That distinction matters because the rules and the paperwork are built around the member, not the caregiver.
For the member or patient, the steps are: enroll in Health First Colorado if you are not already, contact a Case Management Agency, complete a level of care assessment, then choose CFC and a delivery option (agency, CDASS, or IHSS). If you choose CDASS or IHSS, you pick your caregiver.
For the caregiver, the steps follow the member's. Once the member is approved and selects you, you complete the onboarding required by the program: background check, basic training, paperwork, and enrollment with the FMS or IHSS agency that processes pay. FreedomCare handles the IHSS side of that for families across Colorado.
A few numbers that shape the local picture:
A lot of El Paso County families are caring for a veteran parent, a spouse who served, or an adult child with a service-connected disability. Tricare, VA benefits, and Medicaid all can apply, sometimes simultaneously. CFC and IHSS work alongside other coverage rather than replacing it. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging's Family Caregiver Support Center and the Veterans Affairs medical centers in Colorado Springs are both good local starting points for sorting out which benefits apply in what order.
There are reasons people pick home care that go beyond cost. The biggest one is familiarity. The person you are caring for stays in the place they know, with the people they know, and with their routines intact. That alone slows cognitive decline for many older adults and reduces the kind of disorientation that often comes with a move into assisted living or a nursing facility.
Care from a family member tends to be more consistent. Staff turnover in facilities is high. A daughter, spouse, or sibling already knows the small things, like which side your father prefers to be helped from, what medications cause which side effects, and the words that calm your mother down when she gets agitated. That continuity is hard to replicate.
There is also a financial side. The annual cost of a semi-private room in a Colorado nursing facility runs into the six figures for most families. Medicare does not pay for long-term care beyond short rehab stays. Medicaid does, but only when you qualify, and a facility absorbs most of the member's income. CFC and self-direction keep the person at home and let a family caregiver receive pay for the work they would otherwise do unpaid.
For families in El Paso County, the choice often comes down to two things: keeping the person home and keeping the household financially stable while caregiving demands grow.
FreedomCare operates as an IHSS agency in Colorado. We work with families across the state, including El Paso County, who want to keep a family member at home and get paid for the care they provide. Our role is to make the IHSS side of CFC work for you: enrollment, caregiver onboarding, payroll, and ongoing support.
What that looks like in practice:
We do not assign outside aides. The whole point of self-direction is that the member picks someone they already trust. Our job is to make the system around that choice work cleanly. You can read about how families across Colorado are using these programs or what we stand for in our vision and values.
Community First Choice (CFC) is a Health First Colorado state plan benefit that started on July 1, 2025. It covers personal care, homemaker services, and health maintenance activities for Colorado Medicaid members who need care at a nursing facility level. CFC replaced parts of several HCBS waivers and brought CDASS and IHSS into one statewide program.
Yes. Health First Colorado covers home care primarily through CFC. If you qualify for Medicaid and a Case Management Agency confirms you need a nursing facility level of care, you can receive personal care, homemaker help, and health maintenance services at home instead of in a facility.
Yes. The whole point of CFC is to keep you home if that is what you want and your care can be safely managed there. The level of care assessment establishes that you need significant help, and the service plan determines what kind of care, and how much, you receive. Most members in CFC stay in their own home or with family.
Yes, under CDASS or IHSS. You can hire an adult child, sibling, niece, nephew, in-law, or friend as your paid caregiver. Spouses and parents of minor children fall under what Colorado calls Legally Responsible Persons, with additional rules and hour limits. We go over what applies to your relationship during enrollment.
Medicaid home care eligibility in Colorado has two parts. You need to be enrolled in Health First Colorado, and you need a Case Management Agency to confirm you require a nursing facility level of care. Financially, Medicaid has income and asset limits that vary by program and household size. Medically, the assessment looks at how much help you need with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living. Your local Case Management Agency or county human services office can confirm where you stand.
Most El Paso County families see the level of care assessment scheduled within a few weeks of contacting a Case Management Agency. CFC service approval typically follows within 30 to 60 days, assuming Health First Colorado enrollment is already in place. Discharge planners at UCHealth Memorial, Penrose-St. Francis, and Children's Hospital Colorado at Springs can sometimes accelerate assessment timing when a member is leaving the hospital with a new care need.
El Paso County Department of Human Services handles Medicaid applications and renewals for county residents. The main office is in Colorado Springs. You can apply in person, online through Colorado PEAK, or by phone. After enrollment, you contact a Case Management Agency to begin the CFC assessment.
In many cases, yes. VA benefits and Medicaid are separate programs, and people can be eligible for both. If your parent is enrolled in Health First Colorado and meets the nursing facility level of care, they can use CFC alongside VA care. The VA also has its own Veteran Directed Care program for some veterans, which works similarly to CFC. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging and your local VA medical center can help you sort out which benefits to use in which order, and we can support the CFC and IHSS side.
If you are caring for a family member in El Paso County and want to find out whether Colorado Medicaid can pay you for that care, we can help you take the next step. Contact FreedomCare to talk with someone about CFC eligibility and how IHSS works for your family. Most calls take about 15 minutes and there is no obligation.
Important Disclaimer: This page is for general information and is not legal, medical, or financial advice. Medicaid eligibility, Community First Choice rules, and caregiver pay policies are set by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and may change. Eligibility is not guaranteed and is determined by your Case Management Agency and Health First Colorado based on your individual circumstances. Verify program requirements directly with HCPF, your Case Management Agency, or your county human services office before making care or financial decisions.
These are the starting points if you are not sure where to begin.
Serves El Paso, Park, and Teller counties as part of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. PPAAA runs the Senior Information and Assistance Center, a Family Caregiver Support Center, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, and the State Health Insurance Assistance Program. Located at 14 S. Chestnut Street, Colorado Springs, 80905. Call 719-471-2096.
ppacg.org/pikes-peak-area-agency-on-aging/Handles Medicaid applications, renewals, food assistance, and other benefits for El Paso County residents. The main office is in Colorado Springs. You can also apply online through Colorado PEAK.
dhs.elpasoco.comRocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and the local VA clinics in Colorado Springs. For Veteran Directed Care and other home-based VA programs, contact your VA primary care team or social worker. PPAAA can also help connect families with the right VA-Medicaid combination.
va.gov/.../rocky-mountain-regional-va-medical-center/The state Medicaid program. Member Contact Center: 1-800-221-3943.
healthfirstcolorado.comOfficial CFC hub from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, with the program memo, billing manual, and Case Management Agency directory.
hcpf.colorado.gov/cfcFree civil legal aid for low-income El Paso County residents. Located at 102 South Tejon Street, Suite 430, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 719-471-0380.
coloradolegalservices.org/public-benefits/medicaid-appeals/Paratransit service for El Paso County residents who cannot use regular bus or rail because of a disability. PPAAA also funds local transportation grants for older adults.
coloradosprings.gov/mountain-metropolitan-transitOnline portal to apply for Health First Colorado and related benefits.
coloradopeak.secure.force.comCounty population, age, income, poverty, and related statistics.
census.gov/quickfacts/.../elpasocountycoloradoWe’ll help you find the right program for your family.
Why Families Choose FreedomCare
We help families across Colorado every day.
We’ll help you find the right program for your family.
Why Families Choose FreedomCare
We help families across Colorado every day.
You’ve been caring for your loved one because it’s the right thing to do. FreedomCare can help you navigate Colorado’s CFC program, understand your options, and take the first step toward care from someone you trust while they get paid for it.
