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California

Eligibility¹

Children's Medicaid2	Separate Children's CHIP2	Pregnant Women3	Parents4
0-1: 200% 1-5: 133% 6-19: 100%	250%	300%	100%

ICHIA Option⁵

Children	Pregnant Women
Yes	Yes

Waiting Period

Waiting Period	Length
Yes	3 Months

Enrollment Procedures for Children⁶

Program Type7	Joint Application8	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test9	Paper Documentation of Income Not Requested10
Combo	Yes	No	No	No

Enrollment Processes for Children⁶

Presumptive Eligibility11	Express Lane Eligibility12	SSA Data Match to Verify Citizenship13
Yes	No	Medicaid Only

Use of Online Application Forms in Medicaid and CHIP¹⁴

Application Available Online	Application Form Submitted Electronically	Electronic Signature	Paper Documentation of Income Not Requested10
Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Renewal Procedures for Children⁶

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	12-month Continuous Eligibility	Face-to-Face Interview	Paper Documentation of Income Not Requested10
12	Yes	No	No

Renewal Methods for Children⁶

Joint Renewal Form15	Administrative Renewal16	Telephone Renewal	Online Renewal	Express Lane12
Yes	No	No	No	No

Enrollment Procedures for Parents¹⁷

Simplified Family Application18	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test9	SSA Data Match to Verify Citizenship13	Paper Documentation of Income Not Requested10
No	No	$3,150	Yes	No

Renewal Procedures for Parents¹⁷

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	Face-to-Face Interview	Paper Documentation of Income Not Requested10
12	No	No

Enrollment Procedures for Pregnant Women

Presumptive Eligibility	Asset Test19
Yes	No

Premium, Enrollment Fee, and Copayment Requirements for Children

Premium/Enrollment Fee Required	Begin at (of the FPL)	Copayments Required	Begin at (of the FPL)
Yes	101%	Yes	101%

Source: M. Heberlein, et al., "Holding Steady, Looking Ahead," Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, (January 2011); updated by the Center for Children and Families. Data as of January 1, 2011.

Notes:
1: Income eligibility levels noted are expressed as a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), without regard to income disregards or deductions.
2: Income eligibility levels for children's Medicaid includes CHIP-funded Medicaid expansions; separate CHIP programs are shown under children's CHIP. Infants born to mothers in California's Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program are automatically enrolled in CHIP. The income guideline for these infants, through their second birthday, is 300 % of the FPL.
3: Pregnant women's income eligibility levels are shown for regular Medicaid, CHIP, and through the unborn child option.
4: Parents' income eligibility levels are shown for parents without earned incomes (i.e., does not reflect earnings disregards used to determine income eligibility for working parents) applying for comprehensive Medicaid coverage based on a family size of three. Note that several states, including California, have established coverage for parents through waivers, however this coverage generally offers fewer benefits, higher cost-sharing, or is limited to premium assistance for employer-sponsored coverage.
5: The "ICHIA" option in CHIPRA allows states to use federal funds to cover lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women in Medicaid/CHIP without imposing a five-year waiting period. This indicates whether the state has received approval of a State Plan Amendment to adopt this option. In California, some undocumented immigrant children are covered through local programs.
6: Information applies to both Medicaid and CHIP, if applicable, unless otherwise noted. The use of pre-populated renewal forms and telephone and online renewals varies by county in California.
7: States can use their Title XXI (CHIP) funds to expand Medicaid (M-CHIP), cover children through a separate program (S-CHIP), or combine the two approaches (COMBO). Arkansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin have separate CHIP programs for their coverage of pregnant women using the unborn child option. Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin allow families with incomes above the levels shown buy into Medicaid/CHIP.
8: In California, although separate applications are used to apply for Medicaid and CHIP, the programs will accept the other's application. In California the family must consent to the application transfer.
9: Asset limits noted are for a family of three.
10: In states that do not require families to provide documentation of income at application, states generally verify this information through data matches with other government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration and state departments of labor. Often, families in states with administrative verification have to provide documentation of income if self-employed, if income is questionable, or if the state is unable to administratively verify the information. Some states request paper documentation of income at application, but if the family does not submit the documentation with the application, the state will attempt to administratively verify the information before following up with the family. States that verify income administratively, but continue to ask for income documentation on their applications are not counted as streamlining their procedures. This is different than how it has been defined in the past.
11: In California, the CHIP program has a presumptive eligibility process available to families with income up to 200% of the FPL. This process is available through the Child Health and Disability Prevention program provider and the presumptive enrollment process, which provides temporary full scope no cost medical coverage.
12: The new Express Lane Eligibility option allows states to use data and eligibility findings from other public benefit programs when determining children’s eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP at enrollment or renewal.  States are designated as using Express Lane Eligibility if they have implemented an initiative and have an approved State Plan Amendment from CMS.
13: This CHIPRA option became newly available in 2010 and allows states to conduct data matches with the Social Security Administration to verify citizenship.
14: Unless specified otherwise, the Medicaid online application and electronic submission, electronic signature, and documentation rules apply to both children and parents.  Waiver or state-funded coverage for parents may have different policies.
15: In California, although separate applications are used to apply for Medicaid and CHIP, the programs will accept the other's application. In California the family must consent to the application transfer.
16: A state is classified as providing administrative renewal if it sends a pre-populated form with all eligibility information available or a renewal letter to the family in advance of the renewal date. The family is required to either sign and return the form, signaling that they wish to continue coverage, or do nothing. States that send a pre-populated form, but require families to submit paper documentation to continue coverage do not qualify has having implemented administrative renewals.
17: Data represents policies for parents covered through 1931 Medicaid coverage; some states have differing policies for parents and other non-disabled adults covered through waiver or state-funded coverage programs. In California, Indiana, Iowa, and North Carolina, the same simplified application can be used for children and parents but parents must complete additional forms or take additional steps. States are classified as having consistent policies for children and parents if they have adopted all of the simplification measures listed in both programs.
18: States are classified as providing a simplified family application if parents can apply for coverage without having to complete a separate application or additional forms. In some states a longer form must be used to apply for family coverage while a shorter, simpler form is available for children's coverage; these states are not classified as offering a simplified family application.
19: With the exception of Arkansas, all states with an asset test for pregnancy coverage rely on a standard limit regardless of family size.