Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Coverage for Parent(s) or Needy Caretakers

Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Coverage for Parent(s) or Needy Caretakers of Minor Children under Age Eighteen (18) A. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) discontinued coverage of low income families and separated adult coverage from children’s coverage. Under the ACA, Medicaid coverage is provided to parent(s) and other caretaker relatives who have a dependent child or children under the age of eighteen (18) living in the home provided the household has income that does not exceed the State set limit for the program, converted to a MAGI-equivalent limit. B. Medicaid eligibility is extended to the spouse of the parent or caretaker relative if the spouses live together and both apply. C. The parent or caretaker relative must have primary responsibility for the dependent child under the age of eighteen (18) living in the home. Legal custody is not required to make a determination of whether a parent or caretaker relative has primary responsibility. D. The degree of relationship required for a caretaker relative is defined in Miss. Admin. Code, Title 23, Part 102, Rule 5.6. E. A low income pregnant woman with no other child can qualify as a parent of a minor child under age eighteen (18). If married or unmarried and living with the unborn child’s other parent, the spouse or other parent cannot be eligible for Medicaid as a parent until after the child is born. F. When Medicaid eligibility is scheduled to end due to either increased wages or increased spousal support, Medicaid is extended as follows: 1. If increased wages, new wages or hours of employment cause ineligibility for the parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) and the parent(s) or caretaker(s) correctly received Medicaid in at least three (3) of the last six (6) months prior to the month ineligibility began, the parent(s) or caretaker(s) are entitled to extended Medicaid for twelve (12) consecutive months beginning with the month of ineligibility. The month of ineligibility is the month in which the parent/caretaker Medicaid eligibility would have ended. [Moved from Miss. Admin. Code, Title 23, Part 105, Rule 2.1] 2. If new or increased spousal support causes ineligibility for the parent(s) or caretaker relative(s), Medicaid is extended for four (4) months beginning with the month after the month of ineligibility provided the parent(s) or caretaker(s) correctly received Medicaid in at least three (3) of the last six (6) months prior to the month of ineligibility. Effective for divorces finalized or divorce agreements modified after December 31, 2018, spousal support is no longer counted as income and the four (4) month extended period is not applicable. [Moved from Miss. Admin. Code, Title 23, Part 105, Rule 2.2] 3. The child(ren) associated with the parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) case are also eligible for the same twelve (12) or four (4) month period of extended Medicaid eligibility, as appropriate. Since children are guaranteed twelve (12) continuous months of eligibility once eligibility is established and at each review establishing continuing eligibility, the period of extended Medicaid under either provision cannot shorten a child’s twelve (12) month period of continuous eligibility. When there is an overlap, the protected periods of eligibility run concurrently. [Moved from Miss. Admin. Code, Title 23, Part 105, Rule 2.1, 2.2]