Colorado Medicaid officials are working to curb spending on peer and support services after costs reached $293 million last year, The Colorado Sun reported Sept. 28.
The services covered 35,000 people per month. Spending on what Medicaid defines as self-help and peer services grew 286% from 2022 to 2024, state officials said.
The growth followed a 2021 state law that required Medicaid to cover peer support, a change its fiscal note estimated would cost $35,000 in state funds in the first year.
One peer services billing code accounted for $51.8 million last year, up from $8.4 million three years earlier. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing is working to bring expenditures in line with the budget, a spokesperson told the Sun. Gretchen Hammer, the department’s executive director, told lawmakers that state officials were already in talks about a “moratorium” with the regional entities that contract for peer services.
The changes are affecting providers including Abundance Foundation, a northern Colorado nonprofit that received a 90-day notice that Rocky Mountain Health Plans, the regional entity that distributes Medicaid funding, was ending its contract. The loss means 230 people who receive support from the organization’s 11 recovery coaches will lose services, and its three sober living houses will close.
The scrutiny comes as state Medicaid spending is projected to exceed its budget by nearly $1 billion next year.
At the Becker's Fall Behavioral Health Summit, taking place November 4–5 in Chicago, behavioral health leaders and executives will explore strategies for expanding access to care, integrating services, addressing workforce challenges and leveraging innovation to improve outcomes across the behavioral health continuum. Apply for complimentary registration now.
