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Louisiana Medicaid Qualifications

Louisiana's Medicaid program is run by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and it provides medical coverage for low-income residents and those with disabilities. Louisiana Medicaid directly pays health care providers for covered services after benefits are exhausted from other plans such as Medicare and other health insurance policies.

  1. Medicaid Qualifications

    • Participants in the Louisiana Medicaid program must be residents of the state and also must be U.S. citizens, legal aliens or permanent residents. Residents who automatically receive Louisiana Medicaid benefits include families that receive assistance from the Office of Family Support and individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. Families with children 18 years old or younger and not receiving support from one or both parents, pregnant women and those who need treatment for cervical or breast cancer may qualify for benefits as well as individuals 65 or older and blind individuals with corrected vision no better than 20/200. Mandatory medical benefits under this program include physician services, lab and X-ray services as well as inpatient and outpatient hospital services.

    Additional Program Qualifications

    • Louisiana Medicaid qualifications also include individuals that meet the Social Security Administration's disability criteria for mental and/or physical impairments preventing employment for 12 months consecutively or that will result in their death. Those individuals can receive benefits if they also qualify to participate in one or more of the Louisiana Medicaid programs such as emergency medical services for certain aliens or tuberculosis infected individuals. Additional programs include extended Medicare services for Louisiana residents who lose their SSI after receiving Social Security benefits or another source of income. Disabled individuals requiring long term care may qualify for acute care rehabilitation, care in a nursing facility as well as home and community based services such as Elderly and Disabled Adult or Adult Day Health.

    Applying for Louisiana Medicaid

    • Louisiana residents who are not automatically qualified for Medicaid must complete an application in person at a local Medicaid office or application center, by mail or by phone. Residents will have to prove evidence of their residence, income, citizenship, social security numbers, age and marital status. Additional information required for some Medicaid programs includes proof of disability or property, bank accounts, vehicles and insurance policies. Applications are processed according to the programs applied for and how soon all of the required information is provided. Federal regulations allow 45 days for processing applications and up to 90 days for those requiring a decision on disability.

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