Colorado families caring for disabled adults to see less Medicaid pay

Colorado families paid by Medicaid to provide around-the-clock care for adults with disabilities will do so with about 8% less funding starting next year under one of the cuts meant to close the state’s budget hole

For years, family caregivers in Colorado received a higher reimbursement from Medicaid than “host homes,” where a handful of people with disabilities live with one or more people in charge of their care, said Deana Cairo, a Boulder resident who has two adult children with developmental disabilities.

That higher rate recognized that host homes typically accept people who don’t need as much support, while those who need constant one-to-one supervision typically get care from their parents or relatives, she said. But the state now will fund family caregivers at the same rate as h