The $768 Million Question

IWB Dispatch 6

On Thursday, September 17, the Colorado Commission on Medicaid received a critical update: state Medicaid overspent by $157.9M net ($213M gross) last fiscal year, with a projected $443M increase for the current year-a combined $1.3B to $1.5B budget impact in a single fiscal cycle.

By Mark Fukae - Director of Advocacy - Professionals Who Care

Thursday's Colorado Commission on Medicaid meeting confirmed $1.3–$1.5 billion in combined Medicaid budget impact - in one fiscal cycle. The fastest-growing categories: community-based long-term care and disability services - the care that employed family caregivers make possible by staying in the workforce.

Today Mark Fukae introduces publicly for the first time the Colorado Care Firewall: a two-phase legislative strategy consisting of the FLEX Act (Title 8 labor standard, 2027) and the CARE Act (Title 24 civil rights protected class, 2029-2030). Together, using HCPF-published data and state demographer projections, the strategy projects $768.92 million in cumulative Medicaid cost avoidance over ten years. Zero appropriation.

The Caring Costs Survey is the evidence layer: casiadvocacy.org/research. Four modules. Anonymous. Available in English and Spanish. Current responses: 2 total. The Commission's December 11 deadline is 83 days away.

Read the full dispatch. Take the survey. Both matter.

[https://therevenueneutralcaregiver.substack.com/p/the-infrastructure-we-build-530?r=6a52ih&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]