FIRC and Summit County Public Health can help families and pregnant women apply for Medicaid and CHP+. Call 970-262-3888 ext. 301 to setup an appointment.
Information on CHP+ and Medicaid
FIRC and Summit County Public Health can help families and pregnant women apply for Medicaid and CHP+ (Child Health Plan Plus), Colorado’s free-to-low-cost health insurance programs. Call 970-262-3888 ext. 301 to setup an appointment.
Contact Us: If you have children 18 or younger, call FIRC at 970-262-3888 ext. 301 or email bethanyh@summitfirc.org . If you are pregnant, call Kristen with Summit County Public Health at 970-668-9161.
CHP+/Medicaid Application:
English | Spanish
Income Qualifications:
The maximum income to qualify is based on family size, so for example, a single person making $2,257 or less a month, or a family of four making $4,594 or less a month, may qualify. You must also be a citizen of the United States, or a Legal Permanent Resident for at least 5 years, to qualify for CHP+ or Family Medicaid.
Possible Deductions:
Keep in mind that in some cases you can deduct expenses like child care, insurance premiums, etc. from your income for the purposes of the application.
Other insurance coverage:
If your children are currently without health insurance, you can apply right away. If your children are covered under a plan that you pay for entirely out-of-pocket, or if they are covered under your employer’s plan but the employer pays less than 50% of the premium, you can apply as soon as you have dropped your children from that insurance.
If your children are under your employer’s plan and the employer pays 50% or more of the premium, they may still qualify, but you will have to drop them from the insurance and wait 90 days before applying.
Please contact FIRC with any questions about how these requirements may affect your children’s eligibility. 970-262-3888 ext. 301
How does CHP+ and Medicaid help?
CHP+ and Medicaid are free-to-low cost health insurance programs for children, families, and pregnant women. They provide coverage for medical, dental and vision care as well as prenatal care for pregnant women.
What is the difference between CHP+ and Medicaid?
The major difference between the two is that CHP+ is for children and pregnant women whose households earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. In some cases there is a small co-pay for CHP+, while Medicaid has none. When you apply you are screened for both programs and enrolled into the one you qualify for based on your income, as long as you do not earn more than the maximum for CHP+.
Also, for families earning 100% of federal poverty level or less (for example, $1,838 per month for a family of four), Medicaid provides coverage for parents as well as children. Otherwise, both CHP+ and Medicaid cover only children and pregnant women.
This publication was made possible by Grant Number H2PHS16502 from HRSA.
How to apply
CHP+/Medicaid Application:
English | Spanish
What does the application process involve?
In order to apply for CHP+/Medicaid, you must complete the application form (it’s the same for both programs) and provide verification of the following:
1) Citizenship and Identify for each person applying (such as birth certificates, passports, Colorado ID’s, School or medical records, etc.)
2) Household income for the either the month in which you are applying, or the previous month
FIRC can help by verifying your citizenship and identity documents so that you do not have to send the originals in with your application. We can also check your application for common mistakes to make sure that if you qualify, your application is accepted the first time. Once we have done this we can send in your application for you to the CHP+/Medicaid program and then help you with any problems that may arise during the process. It takes 30-45 days for a CHP+/Medicaid application to be processed, so it’s critical to have everything right the first time.
Immediate Care Needed:
If your child needs to see a doctor right away, we can pre-screen your application and if we are certain that you qualify provide a card that grants “presumptive eligibility,” which gives your child temporary coverage for 45 days while your application is being processed. We are only able to do this when we are very sure that you will qualify and when you have a child with an urgent medical need.
FIRC is available and happy to answer any questions you may have regarding CHP+ or Medicaid.
The project described was supported by Grant Number H2PHS16502 from HRSA. For more information please visit the official CHP+ site .