CHP Health Insurance

FIRC can help families and pregnant women apply for Medicaid and CHP+ (Child Health Plan Plus), Colorado’s free-to-low-cost health insurance programs.

CHP+ update as of February 2: CHP+ HAS BEEN FUNDED UNTIL 2024. All plans will continue without interruption from government spending.

Online through PEAK – if you have basic computer skills, we recommend setting up an account on the COLORADO PEAK website and applying through this site. Applications can be processed much faster in this way.

Income Qualifications: The maximum income to qualify is based on family size, so for example, a single person making $2,529 or less a month, or a family of four making $5,168 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.

Family Size	Monthly Income
1	$2,613
2	$3,519
3	$4,425
4	$5,330
5	$6,236

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 and can apply as soon as you have dropped your children from that insurance. Please contact FIRC with any questions about how these requirements may affect your children’s eligibility. 970-455-0225.

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.

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.