Data as of December 2009 unless otherwise noted.
To be eligible in the infant category, a child has not yet reached his or her first birthday. To be eligible in the 1-5 category, the child is age one or older, but has not yet reached his or her sixth birthday. To be eligible in the 6-19 category, the child is age six or older, but has not yet reached his or her 19th birthday.
The following states offer coverage to legal immigrants without a five year waiting period. These states have submitted a state plan amendment to adopt the new option to cover immigrant children who have been legally residing in the U.S. for less than five years: CA, CT, DC, HI, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, RI, VA, WA. New Mexico and Rhode Island adopted the new option to expand coverage to immigrant children who have been legally residing in the U.S. for less than five years. Virginia provides coverage to legal immigrant children without requiring five-year wait for families with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty line.
The income eligibility levels noted may refer to gross or net income depending on the state. Income eligibility levels listed are either for “regular” Medicaid where states receive “regular” Medicaid matching payments or show eligibility levels for the state’s CHIP-funded Medicaid expansion program where the state receives the enhanced CHIP matching payments for these children. The eligibility level listed is the higher of these two standards.
Eligibility levels shown as percent of the FPL. Currency figures based on FPL for a family of three in 2009: $18,310 for 48 contiguous states and District of Columbia, $22,890 for Alaska, $21,060 for Hawaii.

Source 1: A Foundation for Health Reform: Findings of a 50 State Survey of Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and CHIP for Children and Parents During 2009. Data based on a national survey conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, December 2009. Available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7855.cfm. 2009 HHS Poverty Guidelines: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml.
State data are from Source 1.

Source 2: Medicaid Eligibility, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
US figures from Source 2.

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) was established to help government agencies determine eligibility levels for public assistance programs such as Medicaid. FPL is represented in this resource as poverty guidelines as opposed to the slightly different poverty thresholds.

1. US figure is the federal minimum eligibility level based on the CMS Eligibility Report; 2009.
2. Arkansas plans to expand income eligibility in CHIP-funded Medicaid coverage from 200 to 250 percent of the federal poverty line.
3. In California, infants born to women on the Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program are automatically enrolled in CHIP unless the child is enrolled in employer-sponsored insurance or no-cost full scope Medi-Cal. The income guideline for these infants, through their second birthday, is 300 percent of the federal poverty line.
4. Georgia, Illinois, Maine, and New Jersey cover infants in families with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line who are born to mothers enrolled in Medicaid. Georgia, Maine, and New Jersey cover infants not born to Medicaid enrolled mothers in families with income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. Illinois covers infants not born to Medicaid-enrolled mothers in families with income at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty line.
5. Iowa expanded eligibility for children ages 0 to 1 in Medicaid from 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level in July 2009. The state also expanded eligibility for CHIP from 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level in July 2009. Iowa adopted the new option to expand coverage to immigrant children who have been legally residing in the U.S. for less than five years.
6. In Minnesota, the infant category under “regular” Medicaid includes children up to age 2.  Under “regular” Medicaid, income eligibility for infants is up to 275 percent of the federal poverty line, and under CHIP, eligibility for infants is between 275 percent and 280 percent of the federal poverty line.  Under “regular” Medicaid, income eligibility for children ages 2-19 is up to 150 percent of the federal poverty line, and under the Section 1115 waiver, income eligibility for children in this age group is between 150 and 275 percent of the federal poverty line.  The Section 1115 waiver provides coverage for children up to age 21.
7. Montana expanded income eligibility in CHIP from 175 to 250 percent of the federal poverty line, and expanded income eligibility for children ages 6 to 19 in Medicaid from 100 to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, in October 2009.
8. Nebraska expanded eligibility in CHIP-funded Medicaid coverage from 185 to 200 percent of the federal poverty line in September 2009.
9. Ohio submitted a state plan amendment to expand their CHIP-funded Medicaid coverage to children in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line. However, implementation of this expansion has been delayed due to litigation.
10. Oklahoma submitted a state plan amendment to create a stand-alone premium assistance program for children in families with incomes between 186 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
11. For Tennessee, the Medicaid figures shown represent the income eligibility guidelines under “regular” Medicaid. Enrollment under the state’s waiver program is closed to new applicants; some children who lose Medicaid can enroll (see footnote 6). In 2007 the state created a separate CHIP program for children in families with income up to 250 percent of the federal poverty line. Children not eligible for regular Medicaid and children closed out of TennCare Standard who meet the CHIP income guidelines can enroll in the separate CHIP program.
12. In Vermont, Medicaid covers uninsured children in families with income at or below 225 percent of the federal poverty line; uninsured children in families with income between 226 and 300 percent of the federal poverty line are covered under a separate CHIP program. Underinsured children are covered under Medicaid up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line. This expansion of coverage for underinsured children was achieved through an amendment to the state’s Medicaid Section 1115 waiver.
13. In Wisconsin, the state receives Medicaid reimbursement for children up to 250 percent of the federal poverty line and children with incomes between 251 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty line are covered with state funds. Wisconsin has submitted a state plan amendment to receive federal matching funds (retroactive to July 1, 2008) for children in families with income up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line.