DENVER, CO – Healthier Colorado has joined Governor Jared Polis and other leading health care advocates in calling on every member of Colorado’s congressional delegation to oppose any proposed cuts to Medicaid funding. Healthier Colorado’s full letter can be read here, and key points are included below.

According to data from Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), Colorado’s Medicaid program, Child Health Insurance Plan (CHP+), and other health care programs covered 1.31 million Coloradans – 22% of the state’s residents – as of January 2025. This includes 39% of children, 44% of the state’s births, and 61% of Coloradans in nursing homes.

The $880 billion in Medicaid cuts detailed in Congress’s adopted budget resolution will lead to the termination of health care for millions, including people fighting cancer, seniors in nursing homes, veterans, children, and people with disabilities. The proposed cuts will not only leave thousands of Coloradans without health care coverage but will also lead to hospital and clinic closures, eliminating thousands of health care jobs in communities across the state and decreasing access to health services for those with other insurance types.

The impact of the Medicaid unwinding of more than 500,000 Coloradans in 2023-2024 has already created stress on safety net providers across the state, leaving many operating on razor-thin margins and at risk of closing. Colorado lacks the ability to increase revenue to fill the gap that would be caused by further federal cuts due to budget constraints under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). As a result, federal cuts to Medicaid would decimate Colorado’s budget and mean the state would not have the necessary resources to support the many services Coloradans need to thrive, such as transportation, education, child care, housing supports, and behavioral health services.