Benefits Enrollment Center

LEAP is a federally funded program that helps eligible families, seniors and individuals pay a portion of their winter home heating costs. The goal is to help bring warmth, comfort and safety to your home and family by assisting with heating costs. Applications are usually accepted between November – April. 

Eligibility

You may qualify for LEAP if you:
– Pay home heating costs, either directly to a utility company or to a landlord as part of rent.
– Earn a maximum family household income that does not exceed 60% of the state median income level.
– Provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S., for you and household members born outside of the U.S. Valid forms of identification include:
       *Naturalization Certificate, or
       * Born Abroad Certificate, or
       *U.S. Passport
       *Permanent Resident Card, or
       * Documentation of Refugee or Asylee status
-Income Eligibility (See photo below)

How to Apply:
English Application PDF Download
Spanish Application PDF Download

What is needed with the application:
– Lawful presence documentation for all household members
– Social Security numbers and birthdates for all household members
– Proof of all monthly household income (pay stubs, award letters, loans, etc)
– Copy of most recent heating bill (if you pay your heat as part of your rent, include a copy of your most recent rent receipt)

Where to send the application:
LEAP
PO Box 39200
Colorado Springs, CO 80949-9905

For more information, visit the LEAP Website.

Medicare Part D provides drug coverage. The Extra Help program helps with the cost of your prescription drugs, like deductibles and copays. You can apply for Extra Help any time before or after you enroll in Part D. 

Qualifications:
– Adults who receive full Medicaid coverage
– Help from your state paying your Part B premiums (from a Medicare Savings Program)
– Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits from Social Security

Documents needed to apply:
– Bank statements & tax returns
– Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or 401(k) account balances
– Statement for pensions, Veterans’ benefits, annuities, and Railroad Retirement     Board benefits.

Get help from the State of Colorado to pay for your Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) premiums through a Medicare Savings Program. If you qualify, Medicare Savings Programs might also pay your Part A and Part B deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. 

How to qualify for the 4 Medicare Savings Programs:
In many cases, to qualify for a Medicare Savings Program, you must have income and resources below a certain limit, as described below. These limits go up each year. 
You may still qualify for these programs even in your income or resources are higher than the limits listed. Some states don’t count certain types or specific amounts of income or resources when deciding who qualifies.


1.If you qualify for the QMB program:
– Medicare providers aren’t allowed to bill you for services and items Medicare covers, including deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. 
– You may get a bill for a small Medicaid copayment, if one applies.
– You’ll get Extra Help paying for your prescription drugs. You’ll pay no more than $11.20 in 2024 for each drug covered by your Medicare drug plan. 

2.

If you qualify for the SLMB Program:
– You’ll also get Extra Help paying for your prescription drugs. 
– You’ll pay no more than $11.20 in 2024 for each drug your Medicare drug plan covers. 

3.– You must apply every year to stay in the QI Program.
– States approve applications on first-come, first-served basis – priority is given to people who received QI benefits the previous year.
– You’ll also get Extra Help paying for your prescription drugs. You’ll pay no more than $11.20 in 2024 for each drug your Medicare drug plan covers.
**If you qualify for Medicaid, you cant get help from the QI program, but you may qualify for help from another Medicare Savings Program.

4.
For more information, visit the Medicare website.

Health First Colorado is the name of Colorado’s Medicaid Program. 
There are 3 kinds of basic benefits:
1. Physical health benefits, 2. Dental benefits, 3. Behavioral Health (mental health and substance use benefits). 

Some services require a co-pay. A co-pay is a fixed amount you pay when you get a covered health care service. You never have to pay more than the co-pay for covered services. 

Health Care Provider Visits
This includes Primary care medical provider visits, specialist visits, home health, telemedicine, and vision care. 

Dental Services
This includes cleanings, fillings, root canals, crowns, and partial dentures.

Hospitalization, Emergency Services, Transportation, and Other Services
This includes emergency room visits, ambulance services and other non-emergent transportation like rides to medical appointments, urgent care centers, outpatient surgeries, outpatient hospital services, impatient medical/surgical care, organ and transplants, anesthesia, breast reconstruction, hospice, private duty nursing, and radiation therapy and chemotherapy services. 

Maternity and Newborn Care
This includes prenatal and postpartum care, delivery and impatient maternity services, newborn child coverage, breast pumps, specialty programs like Nurse Home Visitor Program, Prenatal Plus, and Special Connections. 

Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder, or Behavioral Health Services
There is a multitude of services that are covered directly under Health First Colorado. These include but are not limited to alcohol and/or drug assessments, behavioral health counseling and therapy for individual or through a group, alcohol and/or drug services with targeted case management, medication-assisted treatment, inpatient hospital stays, psychotherapy for individual, group and/or family, mental health assessments, and emergency/crisis services.   

Pharmacy and Durable Medical Equipment Benefits
This includes a list of covered prescription drugs and durable medical equipment that can be reused and prescribed by a provider such as wheelchairs, crutches,  oxygen, gait trainers, and more.

Physical, Occupational or Speech Therapy
This includes acute and long term home health therapy, outpatient/inpatient speech therapy, and outpatient and inpatient physical therapy/occupational therapy. 

Laboratory Services
This includes lab and radiology tests such as x-rays and blood work.

Preventive and Wellness Services
This includes chronic disease management like blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, immunizations and vaccines, cancer screenings, audiology, allergy testing and injections, gynecological exams and pap tests, prostate cancer screening for men and routine foot care. 

Family Planning Services
This includes office visits and counseling services focused on preventing, delaying or planning for a pregnancy, surgical sterilizations, contraceptives, Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs), emergency contraceptives and fertility assessments.  

Eligibility
Family size, gross income and the age of applicant all play a part in eligibility for Health First Colorado. 

Who is Eligible?
– Financially qualified children ages 0-18 and parents with dependent children.
– Adults, parents, and caretakers whose income is at or below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level
– Pregnant women whose family income is at or below 195% of the Federal Poverty Level

Do I qualify?
You may qualify for Health First Colorado if you meet the income guidelines. 



What do you need to apply?
– Social Security numbers for applicants who have them.
– Immigration document numbers for non-citizens.
– Name, address, contact information and birth date for applicants.
– Employer and income information for everyone in the household. 
– Information and policy numbers for health insurance plans covering members of your household, including Medicare.

Application (English)
Application (Spanish)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps low-income households in Colorado purchase food. It provides a monthly benefit that helps families and individuals buy the food they need for good health.

The benefit is provided based on income, resources and the number of individuals in the household.

SNAP is part of a federal nutrition program to help low-income households purchase food. County human services departments are responsible for determining eligibility and authorizing SNAP. 

SNAP is good for the local economy. Households participating in SNAP spend more on food. By providing more resources for food, SNAP helps free up cash for households with low-income to buy other essential items, like diapers and medication. As a result, retail sales increase, benefiting stores that sell both food and non-food items.

To apply:
Application for Public Assistance (English)
Application for Public Assistance (Spanish)
Application for Public Assistance (Large Print)

Documents needed to apply:
– Proof of Income
– Proof of Identity
– Proof of Medical Expenses (60+ or disabled)

What happens now?
Once you have submitted an application for SNAP benefits, the county human services office has 30 days to determine your eligibility. If you have less than $100 in cash and less than $150 in monthly earnings, or if your housing expenses exceed your monthly income or if you are a migrant or seasonal farm worker, you may be eligible for expedited SNAP benefits within 7 days. 

You may need an interview over the phone. If you prefer, you can request an interview in person. 
If an interview is needed, the county human services office may:
– If you include a phone number on your application, a worker may attempt to call you at the phone number you provided when your application is received. 
– If the worker cannot reach you when attempting to call, you will receive a notice of the date and time of a scheduled interview.
– Follow the instructions on the interview notice for how to:
       *Attend your interview at the scheduled time and date
       * Reschedule your interview if the scheduled date and time is not convenient            for you.
You may need to provide documents verifying your situation and you can provide them in the following ways:
– Upload them to your PEAK account. 
– Upload them to your MyCOBenefits application on your mobile device
– Provide them to your county human services office location
-Mail them to the mailing address on your county’s letterhead or website.

If approved, you will be provided an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Card by mail or in-person so you can access your SNAP benefits. 

For more information, visit the SNAP website.