Colorado Medicaid and SNAP work requirements group

Colorado Medicaid and SNAP work requirements group

by Bethany Pray, Esq.| Apr 2, 2026

Community Engagement, Community Insight, Equity work, federal action, Legal Advocacy, Lived Experience, News, Public Benefits, Research and Policy Analysis, Testimony, Work Requirments, Workers, Workforce

CCLP convenes with a Medicaid and SNAP work requirements group to address how H.R.1's change in eligibility requirements in Colorado.

As addressed in a previous blog, Coloradans address OBBBA's attack on public programs, "[t]he One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), or H.R. 1, impose[d] a slew of unprecedented, inconsistent, and harsh eligibility requirements on the nation's core health and nutrition programs: Medicaid and SNAP." Implementation of Medicaid work requirements and expansion of SNAP work requirements under H.R. 1 will impose significant burden on state governments through short timelines, vague federal guidance, and the enormous risks the bill poses to health coverage and food access.

Colorado is facing those challenges while dealing with over a billion dollar shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The state can't do it alone: they will need the engagement of Coloradans who care about a functioning public benefits system and the well-being of their neighbors.

Seeing the need for engagement, CCLP created a forum for a wide-ranging set of state partners to collaborate and support a better path to implementation. Community members, advocates, providers, and county and state partners who know the ins and outs of SNAP, Medicaid, and work support systems began meeting in August of 2025 to hash through recommendations for the implementation process. That sprint led to a detailed set of recommendations at the end of October 2025 that went out to legislative leadership, state departments, and the governor's office.

Since then, CCLP has held monthly meetings with presentations from guest speakers and facilitated discussions. We've heard from staff at the Colorado Department of Human Services about rule changes related to SNAP eligibility and expanded work requirements, trained participants in SNAP rulemaking so that more could participate in that process, and heard from an innovative community partner that is working to develop technology that will facilitate work reporting.

These meetings are also an opportunity to share related work CCLP and others are doing. We've advocated for legislation that will require transparency about the impacts of work requirements and are tracking technology changes and updates. We've also shared opportunities to comment on new PEAK[1] application questions for people subject to work requirements and stakeholder opportunities to discuss Medicaid communications.

It can be overwhelming, but we all benefit when more people are a part of the conversation - all of whom bring their own relationships, expertise, experience, and ideas.

If interested in joining the work requirements meetings, please contact Bethany Pray at [email protected].

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[1] The place to apply for and manage your medical, food, cash or other State of Colorado benefits online.

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