Each and every state has a Medicaid program. The state of Nevada doesn’t make it very easy for people to figure out if they are eligible for it. Here is what I have learned about the eligibility requirements for Medicaid in Nevada. Hopefully, this will help Nevada residents understand if they can get Medicaid.
Right now, all across the United States, there are people who are completely uninsured. Some of this group are eligible for Medicaid. Many are unaware that they can receive Medicaid coverage. I believe that part of the reason that people are uninformed is because some states make it exceedingly difficult for a person to discover what the eligibility requirements actually are.
Such is the case with Nevada. Medicaid is a public, or government run, health insurance program. It is funded in part by the federal government and in part by an individual state. In Nevada, the state Department of Health and Human Services has a division called The Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP). This division works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide quality medical care for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and limited resources.
One cannot simply go to the websites for these organizations and easily find a clear list of eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The state of Nevada has made it difficult to navigate through these websites, puts a lot of information into PDF format, and has an FAQ link that is “coming soon”.
Dig through all of this, and you will eventually find the eligibility requirements for Nevada’s Medicaid program. A low-income individual, or a low-income family that has children, might qualify for Medicaid if the family income is at or below 133% of the poverty level.
People who are currently receiving Supplemental Security Income, (or SSI), may also be eligible for Medicaid. The same is true for some Medicare beneficiaries and some recipients of adoption assistance. Medicaid may also be available to kids who are in foster care or who are aging out of foster care. The Nevada Medicaid program also can cover pregnant women, and their newborn infants. There doesn’t appear to be a way to find out more than these very general pieces of information about eligibility requirements from browsing through Nevada’s websites.
Nevada also has a program called TANF, which stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It is possible that a person or family who is currently receiving TANF might find that this could affect their eligibility for Medicaid. I’m not entirely sure, because the state of Nevada doesn’t make things very clear on their websites.
The best piece of advice I can give a Nevada resident who wants to find out if he or she is eligible for Medicaid is to contact the Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy. They have a toll free number that you can use. It is 1- 800 – 992 – 0900.
Image by Anya1986 on Flickr