Medicaid & CHIP

Get Marketplace coverage if you lose or are denied Medicaid or CHIP coverage

Get coverage now
Fill out an application, compare plans, and enroll in Marketplace health coverage. Log in or create account to start your application.

Your state may be re-starting the renewal process to check if you're still eligible to keep Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Your state will reach out to you if they need more information. To prepare:

• Update your contact information with your state.
• Check your mail for a letter from your state.
• Complete and submit any forms your state asks for right away.

You may be able to get health coverage through the Marketplace with savings if you or others in your household:

• Had Medicaid or CHIP coverage, but lost it.
• Currently have Medicaid or CHIP coverage, but will lose it soon.
• Applied for Medicaid or CHIP coverage through your state agency and the state denied your application.
• Applied for coverage with the Marketplace and were found potentially eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage. Your state checked if you could get Medicaid or CHIP, but said you (or your household member(s)) don’t qualify.

The Marketplace may contact you. When you lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage, your state securely sends your contact information to the Marketplace. We’ll use it to mail you a letter about Marketplace coverage. We may also follow up with you by phone, text, or email, if you gave that contact information to your state.

Local help in your community

About a month after we send you the first letter, if you haven’t enrolled in coverage, a Marketplace assister in your community may contact you by phone, text, or email with the information you provided to your state Medicaid or CHIP agency.

Assisters are trained by the Marketplace to give you free, fair, impartial, and accurate information about your health coverage options, answer your questions, and help you enroll in a Marketplace plan, Medicaid, or CHIP. Assisters will:

• Never ask you for your credit card number or any other form of payment
  • Their services to help you get health coverage are free of charge
  • When you enroll in a health plan, you’ll always pay your premiums directly to the insurance company — never to the Marketplace or its assisters

  What do I do if someone contacts me and says they’re a Marketplace assister?

  Confirm who they are before providing any information. Ask for their name, who they work for, and their organization’s phone number, street address, mailing address, email address, and website. Write this information down. Compare it to the organization listed in the letter you got from the Marketplace.

  You can also contact the Marketplace Call Center any time for help with Marketplace coverage.

  To get help with your coverage options or to apply for Marketplace coverage, find local help near you or contact the Marketplace Call Center.

  Say no to scams
  Don’t share your personal information or give money to anyone saying you have to pay them to keep Medicaid or CHIP coverage or apply for Marketplace coverage. The Marketplace, assister organizations, and your state will never threaten you or anyone in your household or ask for your credit card information or payment to keep or qualify for health coverage.

  Report it if someone calls, emails, or texts you asking for:
  • Your personal information (like your Social Security Number)
  • Money (like credit card payment, gift cards, cash, prepaid debit card, or cryptocurrency)
  • Or, if they threaten you or anyone in your household with legal action

  Submitting a Marketplace application

  Update your existing Marketplace application or create a new application right away to see if you (or other members in your household) are eligible to buy a Marketplace plan and get help with costs.

  1. Log into your Marketplace account. If you don’t already have a Marketplace account, you can create one.
  2. Start a new application, or update your existing one.
     • To start a new application, choose your state and then select “Start my application.”
     • If you have an existing application, select “Go to my applications & coverage,” and choose the one you want to update under “Your existing applications.”
  3. Be sure your application includes:
     • Your state’s recent decision about Medicaid and CHIP coverage.
     • Information like your current income.
  4. Answer the Medicaid/CHIP and household questions based on your situation. (Get tips to help you answer the Medicaid and CHIP application questions under Answering application questions.)
  5. Submit your completed application. You’ll get your eligibility results right away.
  6. Enroll in a Marketplace plan, if eligible. Once you enroll, you’ll need to pay your plan’s premium to start your coverage.
     

  If you’re a member of a Federally-recognized tribe or an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporation shareholder, you may be able to get additional cost savings when you enroll in a qualified Marketplace health plan. Get more health coverage information for American Indians & Alaska Natives.

  Getting your application results

  You'll get results right away telling you if you or others in your household qualify for health coverage through the Marketplace. Based on how you answer your application questions, we may also check to see if you could still qualify for Medicaid or CHIP coverage. Review your results – they include:

  • Information about savings on your Marketplace plan
  • Other actions you may need to take to confirm your information
  • Enrollment deadlines
  Your eligibility results will also tell you if you or anyone in your household qualifies for a Special Enrollment Period

  A time outside the yearly Open Enrollment Period when you can sign up for health insurance. You qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you’ve had certain life events, including losing health coverage, moving, getting married, having a baby, or adopting a child, or if your household income is below a certain amount.

  Refer to glossary for more details.

  to enroll outside the Open Enrollment Period

  The yearly period (November 1 – January 15) when people can enroll in a Marketplace health insurance plan.

  Refer to glossary for more details.

  , or get an earlier coverage start date. If someone in your household lost, will soon lose, or was denied Medicaid or CHIP coverage, they may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

  Answering application questions

  Here’s how to answer questions about Medicaid and CHIP on your Marketplace application:

  Someone in my household lost (or will soon lose) Medicaid or CHIP.

  If you or someone in your household lost (or will soon lose) Medicaid or CHIP coverage:

  Answer “yes” to the question that asks if the person’s Medicaid or CHIP coverage has ended or will end soon. You should answer “yes” for any household member who:

  • Lost Medicaid or CHIP since March 31, 2023
  • Will soon lose their current Medicaid or CHIP coverage
  • Lost Medicaid or CHIP since March 31, 2023 or will lose Medicaid or CHIP in the next 60 days because their income went up
  • Lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage because they didn’t submit all the required paperwork for renewal

  Then, enter the last day of the person’s Medicaid or CHIP coverage. If you don’t know the exact date, enter your best guess. Most people lose Medicaid or CHIP on the last day of the month. Answer the question that asks if your household income or size recently changed.

  • Answer “yes” if you’ve had a change in household income or size since your state told the person that they lost or will soon lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage. We’ll check again to find out if that person may be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
  • Answer “no” if nothing has changed.

  Someone in my household recently applied for Medicaid or CHIP and the state denied their application.

  If you or others in your household recently applied for Medicaid or CHIP and were denied (Note: this means the household member(s) didn’t already have Medicaid or CHIP coverage when they applied):

  For each person in your household, answer the question that asks if the state found the person ineligible for Medicaid or CHIP in the past 90 days.

  • Answer “yes” if both of the following conditions apply:
    • Your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application in the past 90 days for any reason and;
    • There haven’t been changes to your household income or size, or to the person’s citizenship or immigration status since your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application.
    • Your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application more than 90 days ago.
    • Your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application within the past 90 days, but there have been changes in your household income or size, or to the person’s citizenship or immigration status since the denial.
    • The person applied for Medicaid or CHIP, but your state hasn’t responded yet.
    • Your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application because of a disability determination, or because the person had too many assets.
    • Your state denied the person’s Medicaid or CHIP application because the person didn’t submit all the required paperwork.

    If you answer “no,” we’ll check again to find out if that person may be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.

    Someone in my household applied for state or Marketplace coverage during a certain period of time.

    Select “yes” for any household member who applied for health coverage through their state or the Marketplace during the dates listed or if they applied with the Marketplace after a qualifying life event, like a birth, marriage or adoption.

    Someone in my household has special health care needs (like a disability or a condition that requires help with daily living activities).

    If you already submitted a Marketplace application and told us someone in your household has special health care needs, it’s possible that your state may still be checking to see if that person qualifies for more health care services. When you review your Marketplace application, don't change your earlier answers, unless something changed since you last applied.

    If you’re creating an application for the first time, be sure to tell us that someone in your household has special health care needs.