Federal, exists in every state
Help paying an insurance premium (LaHIPP)
LaHIPP can help pay approved employer-group insurance premiums for a Medicaid member.
What it is
LaHIPP can help pay approved employer-group insurance premiums for a Medicaid member.
The state card explains the application and local rules. This is the same application, not an extra benefit.
How the programs connect
- The posted LaHIPP rule covers cost-effective employer-group insurance. Necessary family coverage can qualify when needed to include the Medicaid member and the whole arrangement remains cost effective. The office separately confirms any individual-plan route, the approved premium portion, payee and covered months.
- The LaHIPP office and treating team must confirm how the child’s medical and behavioral benefits will be delivered, which clinicians participate and how existing approvals transfer. The approved premium amount is not a promise to pay every noncovered or out-of-network bill.
- The posted employer-group rule specifies an enrollment period of at least six months, not a decision deadline. The office confirms the current cost test, excluded categories, application, first reimbursement, renewal evidence and how to trace a late payment. Continuing Medicaid eligibility remains necessary; a parent’s failure to cooperate does not automatically end a child’s Medicaid.
What you get
If you decide to apply
Official sources
“Could LaHIPP help pay an insurance premium for us, and what would joining change about our child’s Medicaid care? If the tradeoffs make sense, could you help with the application?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand the premium help and whether changing how Medicaid pays would affect treatment.
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
Get the employer rate sheet, file the state form the month Medicaid is approved, and keep the plan active.
Your social worker
The social worker finds the state HIPP contact and checks whether approval would change your child's Medicaid plan.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The state HIPP unit, on cost-effectiveness
- Ask HR
- “Can you show what I pay each pay period for my child's medical coverage? Medicaid needs that amount to check help with the premium.”
How to apply
First step: Once Medicaid approves your child, ask the social worker for the state HIPP contact. Request the application and employer premium form.
- Ask HR for the premium rate sheet for medical-only dependent coverage.
- Apply the month Medicaid is approved.
- Ask first whether HIPP changes the child's Medicaid plan.
Where it starts: State form after Medicaid approval
What to gather
- Employer premium rate sheet showing the employee share for medical-only coverage
- The plan's summary of benefits
- The child's Medicaid ID
How long: A cost-effectiveness review by the state. Ask for the expected turnaround when you file.
What a yes looks like
A letter naming the reimbursed amount and how it is paid (to you or to the employer).
What a no looks like, and the next move
“Not cost-effective” or “no employer plan”. Ask what changed the math and whether a new plan year reopens it.
Watch out
- Ask first whether help paying the work-plan premium moves your child out of the Medicaid managed-care plan (California: yes, fee-for-service only. Texas: no rule found).
- The state needs the employer's premium breakdown for medical-only coverage per pay period. Ask human resources for the rate sheet before you apply.
- Approval usually requires you to keep the employer plan. Deductibles are not always reimbursed.
Dates that change this
2026-07-31: The federal employer notice listing premium-assistance states was reissued July 31, 2026 (Illinois added, 39 states). Louisiana and Minnesota phone numbers from the January 2026 edition stand until the new PDF is quoted. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 7, 2026.
What it is worth
The family's employer premium reimbursed, often monthly, for as long as the state finds it cost-effective.
- Approved employee premium — Approved employee premium
Covers: Private plan stays primary. Medicaid coordinates behind it
Legal protection: A 60-day special-enrollment right in the employer plan follows premium-assistance eligibility or a Medicaid/CHIP loss
What it costs the family: State-specific.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Medicaid required
- yes
- Employer plan required
- enrolled or available
- Cost effectiveness
- yes
- Delivery system condition
- per state (CA fee-for-service only; TX none found)
Decisions this site cannot make: Cost-effectiveness review
Expect friction on: Employer rate sheet required · Periodic review
The trap: In some states help paying the work-plan premium moves the child out of the Medicaid managed-care plan (California: fee-for-service only. Texas: no rule found). Ask before you apply.
What changes by state: Whether it exists (38 states in the January 2026 federal list, Illinois added in July), the phone number, and the managed-care condition.
Where I read this
- Coordination of Benefits and Third Party Liability — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, read August 27, 2026
- Model employer CHIP notice (premium assistance under Medicaid and CHIP) — U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA, read September 7, 2026