Idaho program
Low-cost children's insurance (Idaho CHIP)
Idaho's low-cost health insurance for children under 19 whose income is above the Medicaid line.
What it is
Idaho's low-cost health insurance for children under 19 whose income is above the Medicaid line.
CHIP uses the same application as Medicaid and provides children's health coverage above the Medicaid income line. Existing insurance can block CHIP, so the office needs to check both income and coverage. The premium depends on your income.
Eligibility rules
- Your child must be under 19 and live in Idaho.
- January 2026 monthly ceilings: 2 people: $3,427; 3: $4,326; 4: $5,225; 5: $6,125; 6: $7,024; 7: $7,923; 8: $8,823.
- Creditable health insurance at application bars CHIP. The separate state employee plan exclusion concerns the child's eligibility for that plan.
- For more than eight people add $900 a month for each extra person.
What you get
- Children's health coverage with a monthly premium based on income.
- Twelve months of continuous coverage once approved.
- A $10 monthly premium reduction for each child up to date on checkups and immunizations.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your hospital social worker to compare CHIP with other coverage and discuss the application route.
- If you decide to pursue it, have current income, household and insurance information ready, including state-employee-plan eligibility.
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare: 1-877-456-1233 · Official page ↗
After you ask
- Health and Welfare uses the same application to decide between Medicaid and CHIP.
- Nonpayment of premiums cannot end the child's 12-month continuous eligibility period.
Good to know
Dropping private insurance can leave a gap and does not guarantee CHIP. Eligibility for Idaho's state employee plan can block CHIP even without enrollment.
Federal background: Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Official sources
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- Medicaid Program Income Limits
- Eligibility for Health Care Assistance for Families and Children, IDAPA 16.03.01
- Substitution Strategies
- Continuous Eligibility
- Medicaid, CHIP and BHP Eligibility Levels
- Idaho DHW, About Medicaid for Children; live page, including Wellness Benefit
- 42 CFR 457.342; CHIP continuous eligibility
- 42 CFR 435.926; current continuous-eligibility text
“Would CHIP be an option with our child's current insurance and income, and what would we pay? Could you help us compare it before we change any coverage?”
Why I’m asking: I want to avoid a gap in treatment coverage or a premium we cannot manage.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
One application on idalink, with this month's income, any insurance, and whether a parent works for the state.
Your social worker
The hospital's financial counsellor can tell you which of the two your income is nearer.
The care team
Nothing.
- Who decides
- The Department of Health and Welfare decides which children's programme your child lands in.
- Ask the agency
- “We are applying for our child's coverage. If we are over the Medicaid line, please look at CHIP in the same application and tell us what the monthly premium would be.”
How to apply
First step: Apply on idalink; the same form decides Medicaid and CHIP.
- Apply once, on idalink; the office sorts your child into Medicaid or CHIP.
- Say whether any parent works for the state of Idaho, because that is a separate bar.
- Ask what the monthly premium will be before you decide anything, and ask for the checkup reduction.
- Keep your child's checkups and immunisations up to date; each one takes $10 a month off the premium.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: The same idalink application as children's Medicaid. The office decides which of the two your child lands in.
What to gather
- This month's income for each parent
- Any insurance cards
- Whether a parent works for the state of Idaho
How long: The same 45-day standard as children's Medicaid, and cover starts the first day of the month you applied.
What a yes looks like
A notice naming CHIP and a monthly premium. Ask for the checkup reduction on each child.
What a no looks like, and the next move
If the no was about other insurance, ask which coverage the office counted and when.
Watch out
- A child already enrolled in private insurance is barred from CHIP. Ask before you drop anything, because dropping cover can leave a gap.
- If a parent is eligible for the Idaho state employee plan, that alone is a bar under the rule, whether or not the family took the plan.
- The premium is real but small. Not paying it cannot end your child's twelve months of cover.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Children's insurance up to the published monthly ceiling for your household, with a small income-based premium and twelve months of continuous cover.
- $3,427 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 2
- $4,326 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 3
- $5,225 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 4
- $6,125 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 5
- $7,024 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 6
- $7,923 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 7
- $8,823 — Monthly income ceiling, household of 8
- $10 — Monthly premium reduction for a child up to date with checkups and immunisations
Covers: The same children's cover as Idaho Medicaid for Children
Legal protection: Twelve months of continuous cover for a child under 19, and not paying the premium cannot end it · Idaho had no CHIP waiting period when the federal table was published, and federal rules ended all waiting periods in June 2025 · Cover starts on the first day of the month you applied
What it costs the family: A small monthly premium that depends on income. The bands and the amounts were NOT FOUND, so no premium figure is printed. A child up to date with checkups gets $10 a month off.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- under 19
- Age max exclusive
- 19
- Income
- Published monthly ceilings for households of two to eight, effective January 2026: $3,427, $4,326, $5,225, $6,125, $7,024, $7,923 and $8,823. The rule's base is 185 percent of the poverty guideline before the conditional allowance.
- Other coverage
- A child covered by creditable health insurance at the time of application is barred. Separately, a child who is eligible for Idaho's state employee benefit plan is barred, and that clause is written on eligibility rather than enrolment.
- Premium
- Income-based. The bands, the amounts, any enrolment fee and any buy-in above the limit were NOT FOUND.
- Residency
- Idaho
Decisions this site cannot make: Department of Health and Welfare eligibility determination
Expect friction on: The premium schedule document would not load, so no family can see the charge before applying
The trap: Being offered a work plan and being enrolled in one are different things for ordinary coverage, but the state-employee clause is written on eligibility, not enrolment. If a parent works for the state of Idaho, say so when you apply.
Where I read this
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, read September 10, 2026
- Medicaid Program Income Limits — Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, read September 10, 2026
- Eligibility for Health Care Assistance for Families and Children, IDAPA 16.03.01 — Idaho Division of Financial Management (administrative rules), read September 10, 2026
- Substitution Strategies — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, read September 10, 2026
- Continuous Eligibility — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, read September 10, 2026
- Medicaid, CHIP and BHP Eligibility Levels — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, read September 10, 2026