Hawaii Medicaid income limits

Last verified: June 2026

Med-QUEST income limits by coverage group (2025)

Hawaii's income limits for children are among the highest in the country — covering children up to 300% FPL. This is a consequence of both Hawaii's high cost of living and the state's historically progressive approach to health coverage, predating the ACA by decades through the 1974 Prepaid Health Care Act.

Source: Hawaii Med-QUEST Division; 2025 HHS Federal Poverty Level guidelines. Monthly figures are approximate — verify current amounts at medquest.hawaii.gov or by calling 1-800-316-8005.

No asset test for MAGI-based Med-QUEST coverage

MAGI-based Med-QUEST — covering adults under the expansion, children, and pregnant women — has no asset test. Savings, vehicles, and home equity are not counted. This is standard for all ACA expansion coverage.

Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) Medicaid and long-term care programs operate under different financial rules, including resource limits and spousal impoverishment protections under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5).

Hawaii operates a Medicaid estate recovery program. The state may seek reimbursement from the estate of a member who received nursing facility or certain long-term care services at age 55 or older. Consult a Hawaii-licensed elder law attorney before making asset transfers if a family member may need long-term care Medicaid.

Hawaii has no separate CHIP program — children are integrated into Med-QUEST

Hawaii does not operate a separately branded CHIP program. Children up to 300% FPL are covered under QUEST Integration alongside adults and other eligibility groups. The same application, the same managed care plans, and the same benefits structure apply. There is no additional premium or cost-sharing tier for children between the Medicaid limit and 300% FPL — coverage is treated as Medicaid throughout. This integrated structure reflects Hawaii's long history of universal coverage policy dating to the 1974 Prepaid Health Care Act.

How Medicaid income limits work

Medicaid eligibility is tied to the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), a measure the Department of Health and Human Services updates each January. States set their income limits as a percentage of FPL — so when FPL increases, the dollar thresholds for Medicaid also shift.

The Affordable Care Act established a standard income methodology called Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) for most Medicaid applicants. Under MAGI, the agency counts wages, salaries, self-employment income, Social Security benefits, and most other taxable income. Assets — a savings account, vehicle, home — are not counted for MAGI-based programs. That changed with the ACA and applies in all states.

States that expanded Medicaid under the ACA cover most adults at or below 138% FPL. In non-expansion states, income limits for adults without dependent children are far lower — sometimes as low as a few hundred dollars per month — or eligibility for that category simply doesn't exist.

What counts as income under MAGI

MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is the income standard for most Medicaid applicants — children, adults under 65, pregnant women, and parents. It includes wages, salary, tips, self-employment income, unemployment benefits, Social Security retirement and disability benefits (SSDI), and most other taxable income.

It does not count child support received, gifts, loans, inheritances that are not generating income, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. One key MAGI rule: the ACA added a 5% FPL income disregard for most adults, which effectively raises the usable threshold by that amount. So a state with a 133% FPL limit effectively covers adults to about 138% FPL after the disregard.

Assets — a bank account, car, or home — are not counted for MAGI-based programs. That's a major difference from old-law Medicaid, where asset tests were common. If you previously didn't qualify because of assets, your eligibility may have changed after the ACA.

Asset limits and long-term care Medicaid

MAGI-based programs have no asset test. But Medicaid programs that cover long-term care — nursing home care, home and community-based services for seniors — use the old income and asset methodology, which does include asset limits.

Asset limits for long-term care Medicaid vary by state and are updated periodically. Generally, countable assets above the limit must be spent down before an applicant qualifies. Exempt assets — the primary home (in most circumstances), one vehicle, and certain personal property — are not counted.

Specific asset limits for Hawaii's long-term care programs are on the seniors and long-term care page. The thresholds change, so verify current figures with Med-QUEST (Hawaii Medicaid) directly.