There is a Medicaid program in each and every state. In Kentucky, Medicaid is administered by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The guidelines and income standards that a person must meet in order to be eligible for Medicaid are somewhat different in each state.
Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It is designed to provide access to health care to individuals and families who are low-income and who cannot afford to purchase a health plan from a private health insurance company. Medicaid is funded, in part, by the federal government. It also is funded by the government of an individual state.
Kentucky is one of the states that is working on creating its own health insurance exchange. The exchange will provide individuals, families, and small businesses with a way to find affordable health insurance coverage. It also will identify people who are eligible for Medicaid, or Medicare, and will help them to apply for it.
In Kentucky, the Medicaid program is administered by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The eligibility requirements include an income limit of $217.00 and a resource limit of $2,000 for an individual. People who have an income that exceed $217.00 might be eligible for the spenddown program.
Individuals or families with dependent children might be eligible for Medicaid (assuming they meet the income and resource limits). It covers women who are pregnant. It also covers dependent children who are younger than age 19. In that case, the child would have to live with a parent or close relative in order to receive Medicaid benefits.
Parents (either one parent or both parents) of a dependent child can be covered by Medicaid if one parent has left the home, or if one parent cannot work due to sickness or disability, or if one parent has died. Another group that might qualify are parents who are living with a dependent child if the parent is unemployed or underemployed.
The income and resources of the family members who can receive Medicaid coverage must be within Medicaid program guidelines. If a parent is under the age of 21, then his or her parent’s income will be considered for Medicaid eligibility. I’ve been blogging about the Medicaid programs in different states for quite some time now, and this is the first state to have this specific wording in their eligibility requirements.
Image by Meng Bomin on Flickr