Medicaid – children of low-income families

JJ is 10 years old and lives in Louisiana with his father and 8-year-old brother. This means there are three people in his household. His mother recently died after battling cancer. His dad is employed as a maintenance worker for a local property management company.

JJ’s dad earns $26,635/year.

JJ and his brother are covered under Medicaid because his dad earns less than $30,288/year.

Pregnant woman

Tanya is a recently single mother with one child who lives in Texas. She is pregnant and works full-time as a restaurant hostess making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. She works full-time and earns just over $15,000 a year. Because she has a child, her household size is 2 people.

Her child qualifies for Medicaid because she earns less than 138% of the Federal Poverty Level or $25,365 per year for a 2 person household.

At this time Tanya also receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF is a time-limited benefit program that helps parents or caregivers. Each state determines what benefits are available for those who qualify. In Texas, Tanya can receive a cash benefit to help with things like housing and childcare.

Since Tanya needs to earn less than $33,820 per year to qualify for Medicaid as a pregnant woman, she is also currently covered. However, once her child is born she will not qualify for Medicaid as a caregiver parent in Texas since she makes more than  $3,626 per year, or 17% of the Federal Poverty Level with a household size of 3, and will no longer have health care coverage. Each state sets the Medicaid eligibility level for parents and caregivers of children and that level is approved by the federal government.

If Tanya’s state expanded Medicaid, she would qualify for Medicaid after giving birth since she makes less than $29,435 per year with a 3 person household.

Medicaid expansion

After working as an administrative assistant at the same company for more than 25 years, Lisa was part of a large lay off due to downsizing. She is currently working at a local grocery store while she is looking for another office position.

She earns the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. She works an average of 35 hours a week, earning just over $1,000 a month.

Lisa qualifies for Medicaid after her state expanded Medicaid eligibility to low-income working adults and she makes less than $17,236 per year.

Example of person needing help with ADLs

Susan is an 80-year-old woman who was living on her own until she fell and broke a hip. Her doctor determined that she should move to a nursing home to recover from surgery. Susan was already on Medicaid due to her low income and small amount of assets and on Medicare because she is over 65 years old.

After recovering from her hip fracture, she was assessed to determine if she needed help with activities of daily living (ADLs). The assessment showed that she needed help dressing, walking from one place to another, using the bathroom and showering. She also needed help remembering to take her medications and eat three meals a day.

Based on the ADL assessment, Susan’s doctors and family agreed that she could no longer live at home and would need to be moved into a nursing facility for her safety.

Dually eligible

Rebecca is a 35-year-old woman who survived a serious car accident as a child, leaving her with physical and cognitive disabilities. Despite her disabilities, including the requirement to use a wheelchair, Rebecca lives independently with the help of Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Rebecca has a part-time job at a local manufacturing facility. She earns $13 per hour, equaling roughly $15,600 a year.

Rebecca is a Dual Eligible because she qualifies for coverage under both Medicare and Medicaid. She qualifies for Medicare because she’s permanently disabled and receives disability benefits. She qualifies for Medicaid because she earns less than $4,249 per month.