Idaho Medicaid income limits

Last verified: June 2026

Idaho Medicaid income limits by coverage group (2025)

Idaho expanded Medicaid through Proposition 2, which voters passed in November 2018. Expansion took effect January 1, 2020. The expansion category — adults ages 19–64 — added a significant new group to Idaho Medicaid eligibility. Before Proposition 2, Idaho was one of the last states without adult expansion.

Source: Idaho DHW Medicaid eligibility policy; 2025 HHS Federal Poverty Level guidelines. Monthly figures are approximate. Contact DHW at 1-877-456-1233 for current thresholds.

No asset test for MAGI-based Idaho Medicaid

Idaho Medicaid for adults under the expansion, children, and pregnant women uses MAGI-based rules with no asset test. Savings, vehicles, and home equity are not counted. This is standard for all ACA expansion states.

Idaho Medicaid for elderly and disabled individuals requiring long-term care uses separate income and asset rules. An asset limit applies, and the state enforces a 60-month look-back period for asset transfers before a long-term care application.

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

Idaho does not have a separate CHIP program for most children

Idaho covers most children through Medicaid up to 185% FPL rather than through a separate CHIP program. Children whose family income is above the Medicaid limit may qualify for federal CHIP funding that Idaho uses to extend coverage — but Idaho does not operate a distinctly named, separate CHIP insurance program in the way that some states do. If a child's income exceeds the Idaho Medicaid limit, DHW can assess eligibility for any available coverage through idalink. Children above the Medicaid limit who are not eligible for other programs may be able to access coverage through the federal health insurance marketplace at healthcare.gov.

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 Idaho's long-term care programs are on the seniors and long-term care page. The thresholds change, so verify current figures with Idaho Medicaid directly.