State guide

Colorado

Programs, dollars, and people that serve autism families in Colorado. Federal protections always apply on top of what you see here.

Colorado overview

Colorado's Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Developmental Disabilities waiver is administered through the CDHS Office of Community Living — apply through your county Community Centered Board (CCB), which is the local intake point. Waitlists are real; apply early. PEAK Parent Center is Colorado's PTI center and one of the most resource-rich in the country for families navigating IEPs. The Rocky Mountain Autism Center and AUTA provide regional clinical support.

Verify program names, URLs, and eligibility on official .gov sites — these change.

⏰ Act now — Medicaid waiver waitlist

Children's Extensive Support (CES) for children; HCBS-DD and Supported Living Services for adults

Typical wait: No state waitlist for CES; around 7 years for the adult DD waiver

Contact your Community Centered Board or Case Management Agency. For a child, ask about CES — but if what you need is ABA, that is covered by state-plan Medicaid under EPSDT and does not require a waiver at all.

Colorado's Children with Autism waiver ended in 2018. Behavioral therapy moved to state-plan Medicaid via EPSDT.

Apply or learn more →Compare all 50 states

Statewide resources

These four programs exist in every state and are the fastest entry points for most families.

Parent Training & Information (PTI)

PEAK Parent Center

(719) 531-9400

Federally funded — free help with IEPs, evaluations, and special ed rights.

Insurance Coverage

Whether private insurance must cover autism treatment in Colorado.

Colorado requires insurance to cover autism treatment

C.R.S. § 10-16-104(1.4) · enacted 2009

Ages:
No age limit in the current law. Colorado originally covered children under 19; Senate Bill 15-015 folded autism into the state's mental health parity requirements effective January 2017, and the age ceiling went with it.
Limits:
None. Coverage cannot carry dollar limits, deductibles or coinsurance less favorable than the plan applies to physical illness generally.

Self-funded employer plans (ERISA) are typically exempt — ask your HR department which type of plan you have.

How to use it, and how to appeal a denial →

Medicaid Waiver

Home and community-based services (HCBS) for autism families in Colorado.

Children's Extensive Support (CES) for children; HCBS-DD and Supported Living Services for adults

Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), through Community Centered Boards and Case Management Agencies

Colorado children with a developmental disability who also need constant line-of-sight supervision because of a medical or behavioral condition, and adults with an intellectual or developmental disability.

How autism qualifies

Autism qualifies as a developmental disability, but the CES waiver adds a second, much harder gate: the child must need constant line-of-sight supervision to keep themselves or others safe. Many autistic children who would benefit from services do not meet that bar. If your child does not, that is not the end of the road — it usually means the state-plan route rather than the waiver route.

Age rules

CES serves children. Adults move to the HCBS-DD or Supported Living Services waivers.

What it can pay for

  • Behavioral services
  • Respite
  • Homemaker services
  • Assistive technology
  • Home modifications
  • Professional services including hippotherapy and massage
  • Community connector services

How the waiting list is ordered

There is no state waiting list for the CES children's waiver, which makes Colorado look far better than its reputation. The gate here is not time, it is the line-of-sight supervision criterion — a narrow clinical door rather than a long queue. Adults are a different story: the HCBS-DD waiver still has a substantial list, reported at around seven years, and roughly 3,000 people were waiting as of 2021. The Supported Living Services waitlist was eliminated back in 2014. The most important thing for a Colorado family to understand is that the waiver is not the route to ABA. When CMS refused Colorado's 2015 attempt to expand its autism waiver, it directed the state to cover behavioral therapy through state-plan Medicaid under EPSDT instead — which is an entitlement with no queue for under-21s. Chasing a waiver to get ABA in Colorado is chasing the wrong program.

How to apply

Contact your local Community Centered Board or Case Management Agency, or call HCPF on (303) 866-7450, and ask for an intake and eligibility determination. Ask separately whether your child's ABA is being authorized under EPSDT — that does not depend on the waiver.

(303) 866-7450Full Colorado waiver detail and sources →

Verified August 2026 against 4 official sources.

Medicaid Managed Care

How Medicaid pays for ABA therapy in Colorado.

Health First Colorado

ABA covered: Under 21 (20 and younger)

Find or choose your plan

Health First Colorado Enrollment (find your regional organization or change your primary care provider)

(888) 367-6557Official page →

Plans in this state

  • Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP)
  • Northeast Health Partners (NHP)
  • Colorado Community Health Alliance (CCHA)
  • Colorado Access (COA)
2 more — see Colorado's full plan list →

Every member belongs to a regional organization (RAE) based on where their primary care provider is; it is on your enrollment letter and your Medicaid ID card in the Health First Colorado app, or call Health First Colorado Enrollment. The RAE administers behavioral health and care coordination, and RMHP PRIME and Elevate Medicaid Choice also deliver physical health care in certain counties. ABA is covered as Pediatric Behavioral Therapies for members 20 and younger, and every service must be approved through a prior authorization request first.

⚠️ Prior authorization is required before starting ABA services.

Checked against 3 official sources, September 2026. Plans change when states rebid contracts, so confirm with the state.

Colorado guides

Deeper guides where the facts are genuinely specific to Colorado.

Financial help for autism in Colorado

SSI, Medicaid, the waiver and what insurers must cover — and which to apply for first.

Autism evaluation in Colorado

The two free routes, the deadlines they run against, and verified diagnostic providers.

ABA therapy in Colorado

Verified providers, what the state mandate covers, and the questions to ask.

Colorado insurance mandate

The statute, the caps, and how to complain when a plan ignores it.

Respite & crisis

  • CDHS — Developmental Disabilities Services