FAQ Category: Renewals

If you no longer qualify for Health First Colorado or CHP+, you have a limited amount of time to apply for other coverage. The time you have to apply for new coverage, known as a “special enrollment period,” changes depending on the coverage provider.

Other health coverage options include:

• Coverage through your employer. Check with your employer to learn about options, rules and deadlines.
• Coverage through a family member’s health insurance, such as a spouse, or parent if you are 25 or younger
• Coverage through Connect for Health Colorado (Colorado’s official health insurance marketplace). You might qualify for financial assistance to reduce the cost of your premium.
  • To get free help enrolling in Connect for Health Colorado coverage, reach out to a certified assister online or by calling 855-752-6749. TTY: 855-346-3432
• Coverage through Medicare for people age 65 or older or people under 65 with certain disabilities or end-stage renal disease. If you need help finding a plan, contact the Colorado State Health Insurance assistance Program (Colorado SHIP, a Medicare assistance program) at 888-696-7213.
• Coverage for active or former military, naval, or air service through Tricare (active) or VA (veterans).

If you no longer qualify because you missed the deadline to respond, you can reapply for Health First Colorado. To get free help filling out an application for Health First Colorado or CHP+ coverage, or to learn about other coverage options, call and make an appointment at a certified application assistance site.

A federal rule requires you or an authorized representative to sign your renewal packet.

There are several ways to do this:

• Paper: Mail, fax, or bring the completed signature page and updated renewal form pages to your local county human services department.
• Online: Complete and sign the renewal through PEAK at CO.gov/PEAK. If you return your renewal to an eligibility site without the signature page, you can upload the signed signature form on PEAK at CO.gov/PEAK.
• Telephone: Call your local county human services department and ask the eligibility work to record your signature.

A member is allowed to sign with the letter “X” if the signature is witnessed by someone and that witness prints their name after the phrase “witnessed by.”

Important:

• If you do not return the Renewal Form Signature Page by the deadline, you may lose your health care coverage.
• You must return the Renewal Form Signature Page, even if you don’t have any changes.

When you are approved for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), you only have health coverage for a certain period of time. At the end of your health coverage period, we will review your information to see if you and your household members still qualify for health coverage. An eligibility renewal is sometimes called a redetermination.

Some members will be automatically renewed based on the most recent information already on file with the state. If we need more information to see if you qualify, you will get a renewal packet in the mail and online at CO.gov/PEAK about 60 to 70 days before your renewal deadline.

To keep your health coverage, you must complete your renewal on time.

• Review the information we have about you and your household members.
• Report any changes or corrections to your information
• Sign and return the renewal by the due date

Watch a short video about how the renewal process works:

Make sure Health First Colorado has your latest information.

• Tell us about changes to your address, phone number, or email so we can reach you with important information.
• Report life changes like getting married or having a child.
• Update your contact information on CO.gov/PEAK or the Health First Colorado app.
• Opt in to email, text, and push notifications on CO.gov/PEAK or the Health First Colorado app.

The renewal packet may include some of your information that we have on file. Your PEAK account may include more information than your renewal packet.

You need to review the current information we have in the renewal packet for all members of your household.

• If the information is blank but applies to you, add the information.
• If the information is not correct, add the correct information.
• If you need to add more information, there’s a blank page at the end of the packet for you to write it in.

After you make the updates to the packet, sign the Renewal Form Signature Page, and return the form to your local county human services department by your renewal deadline.

If you do not have changes to your information, sign and return the Renewal Form Signature page to your local county human services department by your renewal deadline.

Important: If you do not return the Renewal Form Signature Page by the deadline, you may lose your health care coverage.

Not all members will be renewed at the same time. Members will be renewed according to their renewal month. Each member’s renewal month is usually based on the date you enrolled with Health First Colorado. Members who live in the same household may share the same renewal date. Some members will be automatically renewed based on the most recent information already on file with the state. Other members will need to go through the renewal process and take action. Health First Colorado will send renewal packets to those members in advance of their renewal month with key information and their individual timelines to take action.

Yes. The renewal month will be 12 months after the pregnancy ends. For example, if you complete your renewal in July 2024 while pregnant and your pregnancy ends in September, your new renewal date will be September 2025, not July 2025.

Members must report their pregnancy in their PEAK account, on the Health First Colorado app, or to their county to qualify for the extended 12 months of coverage. Learn more about the expanded maternity benefit.

The renewal process checks to see if you still qualify for Health First Colorado or Child Health Plus (CHP+). Some members will be automatically renewed based on information we have. Other members will need to go through the renewal process.

You will get a packet in the mail or in your PEAK mailbox several weeks before your renewal date. If any information is incorrect or missing, you need to fix it. If the packet asks for proof of income and resources, you need to send copies or upload them.

After you finish filling out the packet, sign it and send it back to your local county human services department by your renewal deadline. You can also complete the renewal packet online at CO.gov/PEAK or on the Health First Colorado app.

Health First Colorado and CHP+ renewals happen every year. Each member’s renewal month is usually based on the date they enrolled. For example, if your coverage started in September 2024, you would be up for renewal in September 2025. You would not have to take action until July 2025.

Members who live in the same household may share the same renewal date. Some members will be automatically renewed based on the most recent information already on file with the state. Other members will need to go through the renewal process and take action. Health First Colorado will send renewal packets to those members 60 to 70 days before their renewal month.