COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A Colorado Springs father who fought for weeks to keep his caregiving hours under the state's new Medicaid cap has won an exception—and is now working to help other families who haven't been as fortunate.
Colorado is facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, and one major goal of the 2026-2027 budget is to make Medicaid sustainable for the future. The budget increases total Medicaid funding by more than $2 billion, but inflation, higher medical costs, and more people receiving benefits are driving rapid growth — prompting lawmakers to make cuts.
Those cuts include a $270 million reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates and other services, on top of a $90 million cut from Medicaid earlier this year.
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As part of slowing Medicaid's growth, the state is capping the number of caregiving hours. The Joint Budget Committee approved a 56-hour weekly cap in March, down from the original 112-hour cap. The first round of reductions took effect in early July.
The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing projects savings of more than $790,000 this fiscal year from implementing the cap, growing to over $3 million in the next fiscal year.
Some caregivers applied for exceptions to maintain their original hours. Ronnie Broyles, a parent caregiver of his daughter Victoria, was one of them — and he received his exception the day after I first spoke with him in July.
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"The next afternoon, about 5 o'clock, I got a text message from the owner of my new agency, and she's like, you're approved. I'm like, seriously? Like, yeah. Oh, okay," Broyles said.
Broyles said he expected a longer battle and was surprised when he received the message.
" I figured I'd have to fight for it in court," Broyles said.
But the relief is temporary. His exception expires November 30, requiring him to reapply before it runs out.
While Broyles was grateful for even a few months of stability, he said other parent caregivers have not had the same experience.
"I'm hearing that it's like pulling teeth without anesthesia. That they're getting denied left and right," Broyles said.
Broyles is now pushing for state lawmakers to take action. He is working to get the Joint Budget Committee to consider legislation that would penalize community service boards — including agencies like the Resource Exchange and Rocky Mountain Human Services — when they violate their contracts.
"I don't know how that will go," Broyles said.
He is also advocating for greater accountability among the provider agencies that pay parent caregivers, saying some are taking advantage of vulnerable families.
"I would like to see the provider agencies themselves reined in because a lot of them are profiteering off of families and families are too scared to speak out," Broyles said.
Broyles said he has experienced it firsthand.
"I have had one take 59%. The money is supposed to go to benefit her [Victoria]. An owner of a home health agency shouldn't be driving a Porsche off the back of the disabled. They've got to make a profit. But they shouldn't be profiteering," Broyles said.
When the 56-hour weekly cap takes full effect for most parent caregivers in 2027, lawmakers say each caregiver will be making roughly $80,000 per year. Broyles said that figure does not tell the whole story for families who cannot get an exception.
"Colorado claims that they care about the disabled. They have an opportunity to show it. Let's do something. I understand the state's in a budget crunch, but let's also think about the families and the children," Broyles said.
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