How to Qualify for Medicaid

If you cannot afford your own private health insurance, you may qualify for your state's Medicaid program. There are certain guidelines and income requirements that you must qualify under, but those restrictions can be less restrictive than some people expect. There are many families who qualify, who never thought they would. There are several steps that you need to take in order to qualify for your state's Medicaid program. Read on to learn how to qualify for Medicaid.

Instructions

• 1

  Confirm that you are a United States citizen. If you are not, you will need to establish citizenship before you can qualify for Medicaid in most areas. In a country where many are born to illegal immigrants, it is important that potential applicants sit down with their loved ones to ensure that they were born within U.S. borders and have proper citizenship, before moving forward with the application process.

• 2

  Determine if you meet the applicant status requirements. There are three main groups of people who are eligible for Medicaid: children under 18 (under 21 in some programs), pregnant women of any age and those in families with small children. So, if you are a 35-year-old male with no children, you likely will not qualify for this program.

• 3

  Calculate your income and see if it meets the guidelines under the Medicaid program. You can calculate by day, month or year, as you often will be given guidelines that are broken down by all three categories. The more people who reside within the household, the more money you are allowed to make a still qualify for the program.