Benefits for Young People

Medicaid and All Kids Eligibility

Medicaid helps people with low to moderate income pay for their visits to the doctor, hospital stays, prescription drugs, medical equipment, and other medical services. All Kids offers health coverage to children in families with higher income.

Medicaid and All Kids rules depend on whether you are:

Note: This page does not cover all the ways you might qualify for Medicaid or All Kids. The best way to check if you qualify is to apply.

How to Apply

You can apply for Medicaid, All Kids, SNAP, TANF, and other Illinois programs:

The ABE website answers frequently asked questions, including explaining what information you'll need to fill out an application.

Medicaid and All Kids if You Are 18 or Younger

If you are 18 or under:

  1. You may qualify for Medicaid or All Kids if your family has low income, regardless of whether you have a disability. This is how most people 18 or under qualify.
  2. You may qualify for Medicaid if you have a disability and...
    • Your family has low income and low resources, or...
    • You get Medicaid through Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD). For HBWD, you must also work, and be 16 or older. Learn more about HBWD.
    • People who get SSI benefits qualify for Medicaid, but need to apply for Medicaid separately.

Note: The health benefits you get are the same, no matter how you qualify.

1. Medicaid and All Kids

When you apply for benefits, they first check to see if you qualify for health coverage based on your household's Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). This is how most people 18 and under qualify for public health coverage.

If your family's income is 138% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) or less ($43,056 per year or less for a family of four), your family may qualify for Medicaid. It doesn't matter how much your family has in resources or if you have a disability.

If you are 18 or younger and your family’s income is too high for Medicaid, but is 318% of FPG or less ($99,216 per year or less for a family of four), you may qualify for All Kids. All Kids is the name of the national Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Illinois.

For All Kids, it doesn't matter how much your family has in resources or what citizenship or immigration status you have.

Check if your family's income is low enough for you to get Medicaid or All Kids coverage this way:

Health Coverage Income Limits for Your Family

2. Disability-based Medicaid

If you don't qualify for Medicaid or All Kids based just on your income, you may still qualify for Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled (AABD) Medicaid.

People who get SSI benefits qualify for Medicaid, but need to apply for Medicaid separately. If you don't get SSI, to qualify for AABD Medicaid, you must:

If you have a disability, are 16 or older, work, and have higher income or resources, you may qualify for Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD) instead.

Medicaid coverage through SSI 1619(a) or 1619(b)

If you get SSI, but then stop getting SSI benefits because your earned income goes up, a rule called 1619(b) lets you keep your Medicaid coverage. If you have SSI 1619(a) or 1619(b) status, you can make up to $38,906 per year without losing your Medicaid coverage.

1619(b) means that you can get Medicaid while earning way more than the program’s normal income limit, but your resources have to stay below SSI’s $2,000 resource limit. If your resources go over that limit, look into Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD), which has a much higher limit. Learn more about HBWD.

Medicaid if You Are 19 or Older

If you are 19 or older, you may qualify for Medicaid if:

  1. You have low income, regardless of whether you have a disability, or
  2. You have a disability, low resources, and low income. Note: People who get SSI benefits qualify for Medicaid, but need to apply for Medicaid separately.

If you have a disability, work, and have higher income or resources, you may qualify for Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD) instead. The health benefits you get are the same, no matter how you qualify.

Note: For all Illinois health programs, you must also meet all other Medicaid program rules for adults 19-41 years old, such as being a citizen or meeting noncitizen requirements.

1. Medicaid

If you are 19 or older and your household's Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is 138% of FPG or less ($20,783 per year or less if you are single), you may qualify for Medicaid. It doesn't matter how much your family has in resources or if you have a disability.

If you are pregnant, you can get Medicaid coverage if your income is 213% FPG or less ($43,537 per year or less if you are single and pregnant with your first child; the baby counts as a family member for this program).

Check whether your income is low enough for you to get Medicaid coverage this way:

Health Coverage Income Limits for Your Family

Learn more about Medicaid in DB101's How Health Benefits Work article.

2. Disability-Based Medicaid and HBWD

If you don't qualify for Medicaid based just on your income, Medicaid checks to see if you qualify for Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled (AABD) Medicaid or Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD).

People who get SSI benefits qualify for Medicaid, but need to apply for Medicaid separately. If you have a disability and don't get SSI benefits, you may still qualify for AABD Medicaid if you:

If you have a disability, your resources or income are higher than SSI's limits, and you have paid work, you may instead qualify for HBWD. HBWD:

  • Has a $25,000 resource limit and doesn't count money in retirement accounts as resources, and
  • Has a much higher income limit; you could earn as much as $4,468 per month ($53,610 per year) and still qualify!

Learn more about HBWD.

Individual plans on Get Covered Illinois/HealthCare.gov

If you don’t qualify for Medicaid or HBWD, Get Covered Illinois/HealthCare.gov may offer other health coverage options. Learn more about private health insurance.

Learn more