Iowa Medicaid Eligibility Calculator (2026)
Iowa covers babies far more generously than older children: Medicaid reaches $6,944 a month for an infant in a family of three, school-age children qualify up to $6,990 through Hawki, and adults up to $1,836.
Verified
Eligibility checklist
Hawki and the infant exception
Medicaid covers children 1–18 to 167% of the poverty line; Hawki, the separate CHIP, takes them to 302%. Infants under one are covered in Medicaid itself to 300% — almost twice the older-child level.[MACPAC] Pregnancy coverage runs to 215%.[MACPAC]
| Group | FPL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults 19–64 | 138% | $1,836 | $2,489 | $3,142 | $3,795 | $5,102 |
| Pregnancy | 220% | $2,926 | $3,968 | $5,009 | $6,050 | $8,133 |
| Children | 307% | $4,084 | $5,537 | $6,990 | $8,443 | $11,349 |
The Iowa Health and Wellness Plan
Iowa expanded on January 1, 2014 through the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan waiver and has a trigger law requiring steps to offset any loss of federal funds.[KFF] After legislation signed in June 2025, the state asked CMS to amend that waiver to add work requirements for expansion adults.[KFF]
Postpartum since 2025
Iowa’s 12-month postpartum extension was approved on January 6, 2025, after most states had already acted.[KFF] Pregnancy coverage itself reaches 215% of the poverty line, $5,009 a month for a household of three.[MACPAC]
Applying
Apply through the Iowa HHS Services Portal. Parents have their own group to 41% of the poverty line; older adults can use a medically needy spend-down at about 37%.[MACPAC][MACPAC]
Worked example
A Des Moines parent with a 3-month-old and a 7-year-old earns $5,500 a month. That is 241.6% of the poverty line for 3.
| Baby under 1 | covered | $6,990 |
| Child 6–18 | Hawki | $6,990 |
| Parent / caretaker | over by $2,358 | $3,142 |
Nearby: Minnesota · Wisconsin · Illinois · Missouri · Nebraska · South Dakota. How limits are applied · Iowa HHS Services Portal · Report a correction