Home / State Resource Center / Facts & Statistics / Medicaid/CHIP Programs / Iowa

Iowa

Eligibility¹

Children's Medicaid2	Separate Children's CHIP2	Pregnant Women3	Parents4
0-1: 200% 1-19: 133%	300%	200%	29%

Enrollment Procedures for Children⁵

Program Type6	Joint Application	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test7	Administrative Verification of Income8	Presumptive Eligibility
COMBO	Yes	No	No	No	No

Renewal Procedures for Children⁵

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	12-month Continuous Eligibility	Joint Renewal Form	Face-to-Face Interview	Administrative Verification of Income8
12	Yes	No	No	No

Waiting Period

Waiting Period	Length
No	N/A

Enrollment Procedures for Parents⁹

Family Application	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test7
No10	No	$2,000

Renewal Procedures for Parents⁹

Frequency of Renewal (in months)	Face-to-Face Interview
12	No

Enrollment Procedures for Pregnant Women¹¹

Presumptive Eligibility	Asset Test12
Yes	$10,00013

Source: D. Cohen Ross & C. Marks, "Challenges of Providing Health Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession," Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, (January 2009); updated by the Center for Children and Families.

Notes:
1: Income eligibility levels noted are in effect as of July 2009 and 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. Iowa implemented its expansion to 300% of the FPL on July 1, 2009.
3: Pregnant women's income eligibility levels are shown for regular Medicaid and CHIP (through the unborn child option). Note that Iowa uses state funds and/or waivers to offer coverage to pregnant women above the levels shown.
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 Iowa, 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: Data as of July 2009. Information applies to both Medicaid and CHIP, if applicable, unless otherwise noted.
6: Program type as approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reported in V. Smith, et al., "SCHIP Enrollment in June 2007: An Update on Current Enrollment and SCHIP Policy Directions," Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (January 2008), updated by the Center for Children and Families.
7: Asset limits noted are for a family of three.
8: In states with administrative verification, families do not have to provide verification of income, and such states generally verify this information by accessing data from other government agencies.
9: Data as of July 2009. Information for parents refer to enrollment/renewal procedures under regular Medicaid; some states have expanded Medicaid for parents (through waivers or state funds) and procedures under the expansion may be different than the procedures for regular Medicaid.
10: The same simplified application can be used to apply for coverage for children and parents, however, parents must complete additional forms or take additional steps prior to an eligibility determintation for themselves.
11: Data as of July 2009.
12: With the exception of Arkansas, all states with an asset test for pregnancy coverage rely on a standard limit regardless of family size.
13: The asset limit applies to "regular" Medicaid only and only considers liquid assets. Pregnant women with income between 200-300% FPL with high medical expenses can "spend down" to qualify for the state's waiver program.