While government budgets are fundamentally expressed in numbers and fiscal allocations, for the thousands of individuals and families who rely on state-funded disability programs, they represent something infinitely more personal: the tangible supports, care systems, and daily assistance that make ordinary life possible. This year, the State of Colorado faced an exceptionally severe fiscal reality, tasked with the difficult responsibility of cutting more than $1 billion from its overall state budget to close structural gaps. Among the hardest hit by these sweeping legislative reductions are disability services, prompting widespread concern, difficult administrative adjustments, and intense community dialogue.
On May 8, Governor Jared Polis officially signed the contentious state budget into law, sealing a package of fiscal reductions that will reshape the landscape of health care and social support programs across the state. The legislative process leading up to this point was marked by intense debate, emotional testimony from self-advocates and family members, and a scramble by state agencies to balance competing priorities within a profoundly constrained financial environment.
Why This Budget Was Especially Difficult
To understand the immense pressure facing lawmakers during the recent legislative session, it is necessary to examine the structural mechanics of Colorado’s Medicaid program and the unique nature of Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS). Individuals who receive LTSS—comprising vital provisions such as in-home personal care assistance, adult day programs, residential care facilities, and specialized community-based nursing—make up approximately 5 to 6 percent of the state’s total Medicaid membership.
Despite representing a relatively small fraction of the overall beneficiary population, the services required by these individuals account for roughly 45 percent of total state Medicaid spending. This stark financial concentration exists not because of administrative inefficiency, but because these supports are profoundly intensive, highly specialized, and deeply individualized to meet the complex medical and behavioral needs of each person. In essence, a relatively modest cohort of vulnerable Coloradans utilizes a disproportionately large share of state and federal resources simply to maintain their health, safety, and independence.
Rather than a temporary problem to be fixed or an administrative expense to be trimmed, this dynamic represents the ongoing financial reality of funding care for individuals with significant intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. However, the widening gap between the rising cost of care and available state revenues has made it increasingly difficult for Colorado to keep pace. This structural reality will continue to drive difficult fiscal decisions for state lawmakers, agency administrators, and community stakeholders for years to come.
The Legislative Process and Community Advocacy
Throughout the months leading up to the budget’s final passage, advocacy groups, community providers, self-advocates, and affected families expressed deep frustration. Much of this dissatisfaction centered not only on the severity of the cuts themselves, but also on the frequent shifting of administrative rules and program guidelines throughout the legislative process. This unpredictability created a climate of anxiety for families trying to plan for the future, a frustration that was felt across the board, including by frontline case managers at organizations like DP and administrative partners at the state level.
In response to the mounting fiscal pressures, DP actively engaged in state budget advocacy throughout the legislative session. This advocacy effort included submitting formal public comments on proposed policy changes, holding direct meetings with state legislators, legislative fiscal analysts, and officials at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). Furthermore, staff worked side-by-side with community partners, self-advocates, and the families they support to ensure that decision-makers fully understood the real-world human impact of every proposed fiscal reduction.
The decisions that ultimately had to be made by elected officials were extraordinarily complex and challenging. Throughout the process, advocates sought to ensure that state leadership recognized how budget cuts would directly ripple through the lives of vulnerable individuals, strain the operations of community providers, and increase the caseload burden on dedicated case managers, all while pushing persistently to minimize overall harm within an exceptionally constrained fiscal environment.
Navigating these changes also highlights the multitude of distinct voices and authorities that shape Colorado’s health and human services policy. Elected officials, federal Medicaid administrators, volunteer board members, and state agency staff all play critical roles in steering these outcomes. The resulting decisions are multi-layered and legally intricate, leaving little room for simplistic solutions or quick fixes.
For those seeking a deeper understanding of the complex fiscal pressures that shaped this year’s legislative outcomes, additional context can be found through community resources, including detailed analyses on Colorado’s broader budget process for the fiscal year and the local implications of federal policy shifts such as HR1.
Questions Regarding Specific Services
As state agencies begin the complex process of implementing the newly signed budget, many participants and their families are left with pressing questions regarding what these changes mean for their day-to-day lives. Because individual care plans, waiver structures, and personal support hours vary widely, broad statewide announcements often leave room for uncertainty at the household level.
Officials emphasize that the most reliable and direct resource for understanding how these budgetary shifts will affect specific services is an individual’s assigned DP case manager. Case managers are equipped to help families navigate the evolving policy landscape, review individual care plans, and identify alternative community resources where available.
Navigating the Road Ahead Together
Addressing the aftermath of a billion-dollar state budget reduction requires a collective commitment from every corner of the community. Organizational leadership has expressed deep gratitude to the individuals, families, self-advocates, service providers, case managers, and state and community partners who continue to show up, speak out, and advocate tirelessly for the rights and well-being of people with disabilities, even when the path forward appears uncertain and difficult.
At the same time, community leaders emphasize that the manner in which stakeholders treat one another during times of intense stress matters deeply. The individuals working on these complex policy issues within state agencies such as HCPF, as well as those serving on advisory boards and legislative committees, are dealing with an extraordinarily difficult set of circumstances. While disagreement is a natural and healthy part of the democratic process, and frustration with adverse outcomes is completely valid, the disability community is fundamentally built on a foundation of dignity and mutual respect. That respect must extend to all interactions, even in moments of profound disagreement over resource allocation.
By approaching these ongoing challenges with grace, empathy, and a shared commitment to humanity, advocates and policymakers alike can continue working to protect the core values that sustain Colorado’s disability community every day.
Editor’s note: This reporting has been updated to clarify the implementation and effective dates for upcoming programmatic adjustments. Changes related to DD Churn are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026. Meanwhile, policy changes concerning youth transitions have been granted a delay and will now officially take effect on January 1, 2027.
