If a parent in Denver needs help bathing, dressing, and getting to the bathroom, Medicare will not pay for that help. It will pay for the hospital stay that follows the fall. It will pay for the surgeon who fixes the broken hip. It will not pay the person who shows up at 7 a.m. to help your mother stand up safely.
That gap surprises most families. According to Nicole Jorwic, Chief Program Officer at Caring Across Generations, in the announcement of a new federal bill, 93 percent of adults believe Medicare should cover home care, and most already assume it does. It does not.
What the Medicare At Home Act would do
On August 10, 2026, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) and Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the Medicare At Home Act, bicameral legislation that would add a comprehensive home-based personal care benefit to Medicare Part B.
Part B currently covers doctor visits, outpatient care, lab work, and durable medical equipment. Under the bill, it would also cover in-home personal care services: help with bathing, dressing, meals, mobility, medication reminders, and the daily tasks that decide whether someone can stay in their own home or move to a facility.
"This bill gives families peace of mind by ensuring Medicare covers the essential in-home support people need to live with independence and dignity," said Rep. Dingell in the bill's announcement.
Endorsing organizations include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Caring Across Generations, Justice in Aging, Allies for Independence, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Care in Action, and LeadingAge.
It is worth knowing why this gap exists. Medicare was written in 1965 to cover acute medical care: hospital stays, doctor visits, and short-term recovery. The home health benefit Medicare does offer is post-acute, meaning it is tied to a recent hospitalization, time-limited, and aimed at recovery, not at the daily personal care someone needs when arthritis, dementia, or frailty has settled in. Long-term services and supports, the formal name for ongoing help with daily living, were excluded by design. Families have been working around that exclusion for sixty years.
What Colorado families do today
Right now, three paths exist for a Colorado family that needs in-home help. None of them are simple.
Pay out of pocket. Private home care is priced by the hour, and the hours add up fast — faster than most families budget for. Figures cited in the bill's announcement put typical annual costs at $60,000 or more per family. Round-the-clock care runs higher.
Spend down to Medicaid. Families with savings can pay privately until assets fall below the Medicaid resource limit, then apply. Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, covers home and community-based services through HCBS waivers. The catch is the waitlist. For the Elderly, Blind, and Disabled waiver in metro Denver, slots can run from months to years. Your place on the list starts the day you apply, not the day you need care. The full mechanics, including income and resource thresholds, are in our Colorado Medicaid home care guide.
Family caregiving. The third path is unpaid. A spouse in Aurora quits her job. An adult son in Colorado Springs drives over twice a day before and after his shift. A daughter in Pueblo rearranges her week to cover mornings. That labor has a real price: lost wages, lost retirement contributions, lost sleep, and slower recovery from their own health problems.
"Right now, needing help at home means paying out of pocket at costs that can top $60,000 a year, spending down into poverty to qualify for Medicaid, or leaving a family member to do it all unpaid," said Nicole Jorwic in the announcement.
What it would mean for Colorado families
If the Medicare At Home Act passes, seniors and adults with disabilities on Medicare could receive personal care at home as a standard Part B benefit. Families would no longer be required to drain savings before getting help. The EBD waiver waitlist in metro Denver could shrink as some of the current demand shifts to the new Medicare benefit.
That is the scenario if the bill passes. The honest caveat is worth stating plainly. The Medicare At Home Act is proposed legislation. It was introduced on August 10, 2026. It has no passage timeline. It will be debated, amended, scored by the Congressional Budget Office, and voted on in committees before it reaches a floor vote, if it ever does.
For any Colorado family dealing with care needs today, planning on today's rules is the right move. The full press release is on Rep. Dingell's official site.
A note on VA benefits
Veterans have a separate path. VA Community Care is an existing federal program that allows eligible veterans to receive home care through approved providers. Colorado CareAssist is a participating provider. Eligibility is determined by the VA, and veterans may qualify based on service-connected status, clinical need, and other factors.
Medicare and VA Community Care are different programs. The Medicare At Home Act targets the Medicare gap. It does not affect VA eligibility, and it does not change anything for veterans already using VA Community Care.
For details on how VA home care works in Colorado, see our veterans page.
What to do now
The care need is real now, regardless of what happens in Washington.
For Front Range families in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and surrounding communities, the practical steps today are the same:
- Get a clear picture of what your loved one actually needs. Bathing help is a different conversation than dementia care or post-surgical recovery.
- Map the funding. Medicare, VA, long-term care insurance, private pay, and family contributions each play a different role.
- Decide which path fits your timeline. Medicaid spend-down can take months or years. Private pay can start next week. VA benefits depend on approval and clinical need.
- Pick up the phone. Care decisions made in a 20-minute conversation are usually better than ones made from a form fill.
Colorado CareAssist is one private-pay option among several for Colorado families. We do not bill Medicare. We do participate in VA Community Care. We help families across the Front Range arrange qualified caregivers for non-medical support: bathing, dressing, meals, mobility, companionship, and respite care for family caregivers.
If you want to talk through your specific situation, contact us or start with our getting started page.
- Denver/Boulder: (303) 757-1777
- Colorado Springs/Pueblo: (719) 428-3999
