Information About Medicaid

Medicaid is a government-funded healthcare program that has been designated to provide lower income individuals and families with health insurance. If you’re interested in knowing how to apply for Medicaid, you’re in the right place for information about how to get the process started.

Where to Go

Many states offer the ability to apply for Medicaid directly on their websites. These applications can generally take anywhere from a half an hour to an hour to complete. If your state doesn’t have an online application, you may be able to at least access a copy of it online that you can download and fill out at your convenience.

If it doesn’t, you will need to take a trip to your local Department of Social Services and request their assistance with filling out your application. In most cases, you’ll have the option of taking the application with you and bringing it back in, or mailing it back in, or you will be seen immediately, if you wish.

What to Bring

Just as each state monitors and manages its own Medicaid program, each state has its own set of requirements as far as documentation that is needed in order to determine eligibility. If you’re not sure what your state requires, when you call your local DSS office to ask about how to apply for Medicaid, ask what information you need to bring with you. In general, you’ll need to bring proof of citizenship for everyone in your house, as well as proof of income for everyone who makes money. This includes any child support or spousal support payments that are received.

Other items you’ll want to include are:

• Social security cards for everyone
• Proof of any former health insurance
• Proof of address

Any information that you don’t have on the day that you apply will have to be submitted on another day. However, this can delay your application significantly. To speed things up, it’s best to call ahead and get a list of things to bring with you.

What Happens Next

Once you’ve applied for Medicaid, it takes a little bit of time for a determination to be made. The good news is, in most states, Medicaid will go back a few months to cover any medical bills you might have incurred before you applied. So don’t worry about that. Before long, you’ll have your approval, as long as you meet the requirements.

View Plans and Quotes

You can view what plans are available to you along with price quotes. Quotes are presented for all of the major health insurance carriers available to you including Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, United, Assurant, Kaiser (in select states), Cigna, along with regional plan providers.