Medicaid and SAMHSA: Just the Facts

Child Mental Health, Medicaid, Men’s Mental Health, Mental Health Matters, Resources, Support & Advocacy, Teen’s Mental Health, Women’s Mental Health

Medicaid and SAMHSA: Just the Facts

In The United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance coverage to those of us with limited income. Medicaid was first established nearly 60 years ago, and since then has kept millions of Americans healthy and alive. In our Colorado communities, Medicaid is known as Health First Colorado.

Another government program supporting behavioral health is The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is tasked with treating substance use disorders and promoting behavioral health overall through grant work to organizations like Jefferson Center.

In 2023, SAMHSA helped treat over 67,000 Coloradans for Substance Use Disorders.

Proposed cuts to Medicaid and SAMHSA at the Federal level would remove a huge safety net for our community and completely change behavioral health care across the country.

Health First Colorado, Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and other health care programs covered 1.2 million Coloradans as of March 2025, according to The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing. That number represents about 22% of our entire state.

Here are some other fast facts on Medicaid patients in Colorado*:

55% are adults ages 19-64.
39% are children, age 18 and younger.
6% are adults age 65 and older.
44% of births in Colorado were covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
5% of covered Medicaid members were people with disabilities, but more than 40% of Medicaid expenditures paid for their care.
87% of Medicaid patients live in urban areas like Denver, while about 13% live in rural or frontier counties, but many rural counties have a far higher percentage of Medicaid & CHP+ membership.
Over $1 billion in Behavioral Health Care was paid for with Medicaid in 2023-2024.

*Numbers are current as of March 2025

Now let’s look at Medicaid caseloads in our local community:

Jefferson County

80,776 total enrollees, 28,407 age 20 and under.

Gilpin County

1,031 total enrollees, 289 age 20 and under.

Clear Creek County

1,204 enrollees, 324 age 20 and under.

These numbers feel large, but the truth is, we all know someone who relies on Medicaid and SAMHSA funding for live-saving physical and behavioral health care. Maybe it’s you and your family, or maybe it’s your friends and coworkers. These programs provide the safety net care they need every day.