How to start a behavioral health clinic in Colorado

Colorado requires a Behavioral Health Entity (BHE) license — base license with outpatient endorsement (plus optional Safety Net Provider approval) from Colorado Department of Human Services — Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), Quality & Standards Division to operate a behavioral health clinic. Fee: $500.

License required

Yes

License

Behavioral Health Entity (BHE) license — base license with outpatient endorsement (plus optional Safety Net Provider approval)

Issuing agency

Colorado Department of Human Services — Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), Quality & Standards Division

Fee

$500

Fee details

Base fee $500 (covers one location with an outpatient endorsement); each additional location with an outpatient endorsement $300; each location with a residential endorsement $600. An outpatient or residential endorsement fee is charged once per location regardless of service count. Safety net approval has no fee. (Fee schedule effective 2024-01-01.)

Renewal

Every year · Annual renewal: $500 base, $300 per additional outpatient location, $600 per residential location.

Accreditation

Colorado is in the 2026 cohort of the federal CCBHC Medicaid demonstration.

Survey and inspection

BHA oversees licensed agencies through provider audits and inspections.

Regulation

2 CCR 502-1 (BHA Provider Rules), Chapter 2 (BHE licensing) and Chapter 12 (Safety Net approval); HB 23-1236

1. Review the BHA Provider Rules (2 CCR 502-1), especially Chapter 2 (BHE licensing) and Part 2.18 (initial application)
2. Confirm whether the agency must be licensed as a BHE and pick endorsements (e.g., outpatient, high-intensity outpatient, ASAM Level 1 or 2 withdrawal management)
3. Submit a Letter of Intent to BHA
4. Complete fingerprinting for all owners and managers and start the Certificate of Compliance plan review with the Division of Fire Prevention and Control
5. Prepare policies and procedures and submit the initial application and documents in the LADDERS system with the fee
6. Optionally apply at the same time for Safety Net Provider approval (Chapter 12)

Program

Health First Colorado (Colorado Medicaid)

Enrollment portal

Colorado interChange Provider Web Portal (Gainwell)

Fiscal agent

Gainwell Technologies (Colorado interChange MMIS)

Application fee

HCPF lists the CY2026 fee as $750 for institutional providers, charged on new enrollments, revalidations and new locations. HCPF also has a process for paying a previously waived fee. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.460): the state must collect the CMS application fee from institutional providers that are newly enrolling or re-enrolling; individual physicians and non-physician practitioners are exempt, as are providers already enrolled in (or that already paid the fee to) Medicare or another state's Medicaid/CHIP. CMS set the fee at $750 for calendar year 2026.

Fingerprinting

HCPF names its high-risk types, all for new enrollments: doulas, DME suppliers, home health agencies, hospices, lactation providers, skilled nursing facilities, personal care agencies under the state plan, certain opioid treatment providers, and some HCBS providers. Those providers and their 5%+ owners must be fingerprinted within 30 days of a request. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.434, 455.450(c)): providers the state places in the 'high' categorical risk level, and anyone owning 5% or more of such a provider, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.

Site visit

HCPF says site visits are required for all high-risk providers, including all non-emergent medical transportation providers, and that site visits are recorded. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.432, 455.450(b)-(c)): the state must do site visits before and after enrollment for providers in the 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels, and any enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections.

Revalidation

Health First Colorado and CHP+ providers must revalidate at least every five years. HCPF emails providers about six months before their deadline and posts a revalidation-dates spreadsheet; claims are denied for providers that miss the date. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414): every enrolled provider must be revalidated at least once every 5 years.

Full Colorado Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

Colorado certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$15.16 an hour

Effective

2026-01-01

Scheduled increases

Rises to $15.71 in 2027 ($12.69 tipped), per the state labor department.

Direct-care wage floor

HCBS base wage: Medicaid HCBS providers must pay direct care workers at least $17.00/hour statewide in 2026 ($19.29 in Denver, $18.17 in Edgewater); if a local minimum wage is higher, the higher rate applies.

Rate pass-through

Providers attest annually to paying the base wage; non-compliance can lead to audits, corrective action, claim suspension or recoupment.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Community/behavioral health agencies and mental health clinics — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

2,793 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

1,188,599 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Colorado Behavioral health Medicaid rates, ranked →

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• Children's Extensive Support (CES) Waiver (1915(c))
• Community First Choice (CFC) (1915(k))
• HCBS – Children's Habilitation Residential Program Waiver (1915(c))
• Complementary and Integrative Health (HCBS-CIH) Waiver (1915(c))
• HCBS Waiver for Community Mental Health Supports (CMHS) (1915(c))
• Children with Complex Health Needs (CwCHN) Waiver (1915(c))
• Developmental Disabilities (HCBS-DD) Waiver (1915(c))
• Elderly, Blind, and Disabled (HCBS-EBD) Waiver (1915(c))
• Supported Living Services (SLS) Waiver (1915(c))

Colorado waivers and waiting lists →