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Louisiana

Eligibility¹

Children's Medicaid2	Separate Children's CHIP2	Pregnant Women3	Parents4
200%	250%	200%	12%

Enrollment Procedures for Children⁵

Program Type6	Joint Application	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test7	Administrative Verification of Income8	Presumptive Eligibility9
COMBO	Yes	No	No	Yes	Enacted, Not Implemented

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	Yes	No	Yes

Waiting Period

Waiting Period	Length
Yes	12 months (200-250% FPL)

Enrollment Procedures for Parents¹⁰

Family Application	Face-to-Face Interview	Asset Test7
No	No	No

Renewal Procedures for Parents¹⁰

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

Enrollment Procedures for Pregnant Women¹¹

Presumptive Eligibility	Asset Test12
No13	No

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 January 2009 and expressed as a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). No standard Medicaid income deductions will be applied to eligible children above 200 percent FPL of gross income.
2: Income eligibility levels for children's Medicaid includes CHIP-funded Medicaid expansions; separate CHIP programs are shown under children’s CHIP. The state has enacted legislation to expand coverage up to 300% FPL. Due to the August 17th CMS directive, Louisiana submitted as CHIP state plan amendment expanding to 250% FPL (gross income) with a 12-month waiting period; CMS approved the limited expansion on 2/27/08. Implementation to 250% began on May 1, 2008.
3: Pregnant women's income eligibility levels are shown for regular Medicaid and CHIP (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. 
5: Data as of January 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. In Louisiana, documentation is only required if the state is unable to verify income administratively.
9: The state has legislative authority to implement presumptive eligibility and is currently exploring options to put it into practice.
10: Data as of January 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.
11: Data as of January 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: Louisiana eliminated presumptive eligibility in 2007 because they have an expedited enrollment process. The state can enroll a pregnant woman in three calendar days.