Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Nevada program

Free health insurance for your child (Nevada Medicaid)

Nevada’s free Medicaid coverage for children under 19. It pays for cancer care and other health needs.

What it is

Nevada’s free Medicaid coverage for children under 19. It pays for cancer care and other health needs.

Nevada uses different income lines for children under six and children ages six to eighteen. The state decides who belongs in your child’s household and which income counts. A yearly income divided by twelve is only an estimate.

Eligibility rules
  • Children must be under 19 and live in Nevada. The application uses the child’s tax household and current monthly income.
  • The April 2026 annual chart lists $54,450 for four people at ages 0–5 and $45,540 at ages 6–18. Dividing these figures by 12 gives screening estimates, not a final monthly budget.
  • A child under 6 qualifies for free Medicaid up to 165% of the poverty line, about $4,538 a month for a family of four; a child aged 6 to 18 up to 138%, about $3,795 (April 2026). For a child aged 6 to 18, ask the caseworker whether the category your child fits allows work insurance.
When you already have insurance
  • Work coverage usually pays before Medicaid. The caseworker checks whether your child’s age, income and insurance fit an eligible category.
  • The financial counselor can compare your oncology team, pharmacy and treatment coverage under both plans.
What needs a separate check
  • For covered care at a clinic enrolled in Medicaid, your family generally owes none of the work plan’s deductible, copay or coinsurance. This can hold even when Medicaid pays nothing extra. The clinic must meet Medicaid’s treatment-approval and billing rules.
  • Keeping two plans means tracking both sets of covered care and billing rules.
What you get
  • No premium or child copays for covered care.
  • Hospital care, chemotherapy, medicines, nursing and rides when their rules are met.
  • Eligible earlier bills can be covered.
What the help includes
  • Children approved for Medicaid have 12 months of continuous eligibility, subject to program exceptions.
  • When your child has both work insurance and Nevada Medicaid, the work plan usually pays first. For a Medicaid-covered, properly authorized service from a Medicaid-enrolled provider, the provider cannot charge your family the work plan’s deductible, copay or coinsurance—even when Medicaid pays nothing more. Noncovered services require a separate check and, when permitted, a specific advance payment agreement.
  • Example: a covered $5,000 claim with a $3,000 deductible unmet. The work plan pays $2,000; Medicaid would have allowed $1,500, so it adds nothing; you owe $0, not $3,000.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital’s financial counselor to help with the Access Nevada application if you decide to apply.
  2. Have current pay information, household and insurance details, and earlier bills ready.
  3. Ask whether the hospital can offer temporary Medicaid and whether your cancer team takes the plan.

Access Nevada; Welfare and Supportive Services: 800-992-0900 · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The application decision standard is generally 45 days, or 90 days when a disability determination is needed. These are processing standards, not guaranteed treatment start dates.
  • Medicaid may cover eligible bills from the three months before the application month under the 2026 rule. For applications beginning January 1, 2027, the scheduled child rule generally changes to two preceding months. The enrollment specialist can check each bill month and discuss temporary coverage through qualified hospital staff while a full application is considered.
  • Qualified hospital staff can determine temporary hospital presumptive eligibility. For an eligible child, it starts on the presumptive-eligibility application date. Without a full application, it ends on the last day of the following month. A timely full application keeps it open until DSS decides that application. Nevada generally allows one child presumptive-eligibility period in 24 months.
Good to know

Your work insurance stays in place while the state decides. For a child aged 6 to 18, ask the caseworker whether the category your child fits allows work insurance.

Other details
  • A Medicaid plan needs to cover the hospital, oncology group, pharmacy and planned treatment.
  • A child who is lawfully in the country can qualify without a five-year wait. Once approved, coverage lasts 12 months unless your child turns 19 or you move out of Nevada.

Federal background: Medicaid; Medicaid with other insurance.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Medicaid help with my child’s treatment costs, and how would other insurance affect eligibility? What are the benefits and drawbacks for us, and could you help with the application if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether free coverage could lower our treatment bills without disrupting care.

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

File on Access Nevada today with this month's income for the tax household, and name any months that already have bills.

Your social worker

The oncology social worker or financial counsellor helps you file, asks whether this hospital can open temporary Medicaid, and chases the 45-day decision.

The care team

Nothing for ordinary child Medicaid. Medical records are needed only for the Katie Beckett category.

Who decides
The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services decides income. The health plan you pick then runs the coverage.
Ask your social worker
“Can you help me file on Access Nevada today, ask about temporary Medicaid here, and check that the oncology team is in the plan I pick?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at accessnevada.nv.gov this week, or call 800-992-0900. Ask the hospital counsellor today whether this hospital can open temporary Medicaid while the state checks the application.

  1. Apply on Access Nevada this week.
  2. Ask the hospital counsellor today whether this hospital can open temporary Medicaid.
  3. List the months that already have bills so the three-month look-back covers the admission.
  4. Pick a Medicaid health plan the hospital and the oncology group are in.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply on Access Nevada. Ask the hospital's financial counsellor the same day whether that hospital can open temporary Medicaid for your child.

What to gather

  • Child's birth certificate or identity document and Social Security number
  • A Nevada address
  • This month's income for every adult in the tax household
  • Insurance cards, if any
  • Hospital bills from the three months before you apply

How long: The manual gives the state 45 days. Temporary Medicaid from a participating hospital can start the same day. Once approved, coverage reaches back up to three months before the month you applied; that drops to two months for applications made from January 1, 2027.

What a yes looks like

A notice with coverage dates and a choice of Medicaid health plan. Check that the hospital and the oncology group are in the plan before choosing. Twelve months of continuous coverage follows.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A notice saying income is over the line. Ask the same office to check Nevada Check Up, and ask about Katie Beckett if your child needs hospital-level care at home.

Watch out

  • Nevada counts the tax household and this month's income, not last year's return.
  • The higher band for ages 6 to 18 says the child cannot hold other major medical coverage. Ask the caseworker which aid code applies before you drop or keep a work plan.
  • If the caseworker says income is too high, ask in the same application for Nevada Check Up, and ask about Katie Beckett if your child needs hospital-level care at home.

If they say no, quote this: Manual B-120: children zero through five up to 165%; children six through 18 above CH up to 138% (CH1 aid code).

Dates that change this

2026-04-01: The dollar figures come from Nevada Health Link's 2026 poverty chart, effective April 1, 2026. Nevada's own monthly budgeting table was not published, so the caseworker's number can differ by a few dollars.

2027-01-01: Coverage reaches back up to three months before the month you apply. For applications made on or after January 1, 2027 that drops to two months. Nevada has not published how it will run the change.

2026-10-01: From October 1, 2026 the rules on which non-citizen children can hold full Medicaid change. Lawfully residing children still enrol with no waiting period. Ask the caseworker how it applies to your child. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Free full coverage with no premium and no child copays. The published 2026 chart for four people is $54,450 a year at ages 0 to 5 and $45,540 at ages 6 to 18.

  • $54,450/year — Ages 0 to 5, household of 4, published 165% cell
  • $45,540/year — Ages 6 to 18, household of 4, published 138% cell
  • $45,078/year — Ages 0 to 5, household of 3, published 165% cell
  • $37,702/year — Ages 6 to 18, household of 3, published 138% cell
  • $63,822/year — Ages 0 to 5, household of 5, published 165% cell
  • $53,378/year — Ages 6 to 18, household of 5, published 138% cell

Covers: Hospital and clinic care · Chemotherapy and prescriptions · Healthy Kids (EPSDT): anything medically necessary for a child under 21 · Private duty nursing and personal care when approved · Rides to appointments · Dental and vision

Legal protection: 12 months of continuous coverage once approved, even if income rises

What it costs the family: No premium. No copays for a child.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 19
Age max exclusive
19
Income
MAGI budget group; 165% of poverty at ages 0 to 5 (CH), 122% then 138% at ages 6 to 18 (CH then CH1). Whether a five percent disregard is inside the published cells was not established.
Insurance status condition
Medicaid is the payer of last resort (manual C-620), but the CH1 category for ages 6 to 18 says the child cannot have other major medical coverage (manual B-125); the two were not reconciled
Residency
Nevada
Continuous eligibility
12 months for children under 19
Retroactive months
3 now; 2 for applications made from 2027-01-01
Processing standard
45 days from the application date (manual D-135)

Decisions this site cannot make: Welfare and Supportive Services MAGI determination · Hospital presumptive eligibility, where the hospital signed up

Expect friction on: Choosing a Medicaid health plan the oncology team is in

The trap: Nevada counts the tax household and this month's income, not last year's return. The higher band for ages 6 to 18 (the CH1 aid code) says the child cannot hold other major medical coverage, while the general rule makes Medicaid the payer of last resort. Ask the caseworker which aid code your child is in before you change anything about a work plan.

Where I read this

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