Department of Public Health and Environment Nursing Home Penalty Fund

Broader grants for nursing home care

Colorado’s nursing home penalty fund supports innovative projects that improve residents’ care and quality of life, including staff training. Grants and the Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board’s recommendations must follow federal Medicare and Medicaid agency priorities, allowed uses, and grant cycles. More groups can seek grants, including state agencies without nursing facilities and non-government providers serving the fund’s purposes. The state health departments and board develop payment processes that can allow advance payments, with progress reports from grant recipients. Their yearly report on spending, recipients, and results is due January 1 instead of October 1, with no reporting sunset. The rules apply to distributions on or after the effective date: August 12, 2026, assuming final adjournment on May 13, 2026. A referendum petition delays the effective date, and the law then takes effect only with voter approval at the November 2026 election.