Medicaid by State: Names, Income Limits and What Changes in 2027

✓Last verified: 2026-09-23

Medicaid has 51 names, 51 application portals and, since the 2025 reconciliation law, 51 different timelines for the new work requirement. The one rule that splits the country is expansion: in 41 states and DC an adult qualifies on income alone at 138% of poverty, and in the other ten (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming) most adults without children cannot qualify at all. Each state name opens the full page.

Income limits computed from the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines (Alaska and Hawaii use their own). Work-requirement dates are the state's own announcement where one exists; otherwise the federal deadline of January 1, 2027 applies.

The 2025 law: what changes and when

• Work requirement, by January 1, 2027 (earlier in Nebraska, Montana, Arkansas and Iowa): expansion adults 19 to 64 must log 80 hours a month of work, community service, a work program or half-time study, or earn 80 times the federal minimum wage. Exempt: parents of children 13 and under, the medically frail, pregnant and postpartum women, people in substance use treatment, veterans with a total disability rating, former foster youth, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and others. Interim final rule published June 3, 2026.
• Six-month renewals for expansion adults, for renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027.
• October 1, 2026. Federal funding for full Medicaid and CHIP ends for refugees, asylees, parolees and most other humanitarian entrants; citizens, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and COFA citizens remain eligible, and emergency Medicaid continues for everyone.
• January 1, 2027. Retroactive coverage shrinks from three months to one month for expansion adults and two months for everyone else.
• October 1, 2028. Cost sharing of up to $35 per service for expansion adults above 100% of poverty, capped at 5% of family income, with primary care, mental health and emergency services expected to be excluded.

Sources: CMS section-by-section overview of the law; Federal Register, community engagement interim final rule (June 3, 2026); CMS SMD 26-001 (renewals); CMS SHO 26-001 (non-citizen eligibility). Links are on every state page.

Medicare Savings Programs, 2026 federal floors

Seniors and disabled people on Medicare use Medicaid's Medicare Savings Programs to pay premiums and cost sharing. The 2026 federal income floors (individual / couple, monthly) are below; states may set higher limits and several drop the resource test.

Does Medicaid cover it?

Federal law fixes the mandatory benefits and leaves the rest to the state. We answer the most-searched coverage questions with the federal rule and what to ask your state:

• Does Medicaid cover dental for adults?
• Does Medicaid cover braces?
• Does Medicaid cover dentures?
• Does Medicaid cover wisdom teeth removal?
• Does Medicaid cover eye exams and glasses?
• Does Medicaid cover contacts or LASIK?
• Does Medicaid cover hearing aids?
• Does Medicaid cover therapy?
• Does Medicaid cover physical therapy?
• Does Medicaid cover chiropractic care?
• Does Medicaid cover Wegovy, Zepbound or other weight-loss drugs?
• Does Medicaid cover prescriptions?
• Does Medicaid cover ambulance rides?
• Does Medicaid cover transportation to appointments?
• Does Medicaid cover nursing home care?
• Does Medicaid cover assisted living?
• Does Medicaid cover home health care?
• Does Medicaid cover abortion?
• Does Medicaid cover IVF or fertility treatment?
• Does Medicaid cover gender-affirming care?
• Does Medicaid cover cosmetic surgery?
• Does Medicaid cover weight-loss surgery?
• Does Medicaid cover urgent care and ER visits?
• Does Medicaid cover incontinence supplies?
• Does Medicaid cover over-the-counter medicine?
• Does Medicaid cover breast pumps?
• Does Medicaid cover circumcision?

A Medicaid case also qualifies your household for a free Lifeline phone; start with free phone with Medicaid. Food help is on SNAP by state.

Gov-Grants.org is an independent guide, not a carrier and not a government agency. We never charge fees, and every fact above links to its source with the date we checked it. Program details change; confirm on the official site before applying.