Vermont program
Health coverage for the adult caring for your child (Vermont Medicaid)
Vermont Medicaid can cover you as well as your child, using the same application.
What it is
Vermont Medicaid can cover you as well as your child, using the same application.
Your child's coverage and your own coverage use different income limits. Vermont screens adults at 138% of the poverty guideline, including the standard income allowance. A change in pay can matter even if last year's earnings were higher.
Eligibility rules
- This expansion route is for Vermont adults ages 19 through 64.
- The state decides your household and which income counts. Annual income divided by 12 is only an estimate.
- A relative raising the child can be checked for adult Medicaid in their own right. The line is 138% of poverty, judged on this month's income.
What you get
- Health coverage for you with no monthly premium.
What the help includes
- The counselor can compare your own treatment needs and doctors with the Medicaid coverage.
- Adults pay small copays: $3 for a hospital outpatient visit and $1 to $3 for a prescription. A clinic cannot refuse care because you cannot pay the copay.
If you decide to apply
- Talk with the social worker about coverage for the adult caring for your child. If you decide to pursue it, the counselor can explain the application.
- Have your latest income information ready and explain when pay changed.
Vermont Health Connect: 855-899-9600. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- A parent and child can receive different coverage decisions on the same application.
- The ordinary Medicaid decision standard is 45 days, or 90 days for a disability determination, with limited exceptions. During 2026, eligible coverage can include the application month and up to three earlier months. For applications on or after January 1, 2027, federal law reduces earlier coverage to one month for expansion adults and generally two months for other Medicaid categories; the worker must identify your category.
Good to know
Your child’s coverage does not decide your own eligibility. Relative caregivers can have their own adult Medicaid review.
Other details
- Current monthly income can produce a different result from the income on last year's tax return.
Official sources
“Could I qualify for Medicaid too? What would change from my current insurance, and could you help include me if applying makes sense?”
Why I’m asking: I need to keep my own health care covered while caring for my child.
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
Add yourself to the child's application and report this month's income.
Your social worker
The hospital financial advocate files both at once.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Vermont Health Connect.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can we add the parents to the same application, using this month's income rather than last year's?”
How to apply
First step: Add the parents to the child's application at VermontHealthConnect.gov or on 855-899-9600.
- Add the parents to the same application as the child.
- If pay has just dropped, file this month rather than waiting.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Same application as the child, at VermontHealthConnect.gov or on 855-899-9600.
What to gather
- This month's pay for each parent
- Vermont address
How long: Not published. Ask for a decision date when you file.
What a yes looks like
A Green Mountain Care card in the parent's name.
What a no looks like, and the next move
If the no is on income and pay has since dropped, report the change and ask for a new decision.
Watch out
- Vermont counts income now. File in the month pay drops.
- The dollar figure here is computed from the poverty guideline, not copied from a Vermont table. Let the state do the real sum.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Free health coverage for a parent at or under 138 percent of the poverty guideline, computed rather than copied from a Vermont table.
- $138/year — Adult income line, percentage of the poverty guideline including the standard allowance
Covers: Doctor and hospital care for the parent · Prescriptions · Mental health care
What it costs the family: No premium.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- 19 to 64
- Income
- computed at 138 percent of the poverty guideline
- Residency
- Vermont
The trap: Vermont counts income now, not last year. File in the month the pay drops, not at the end of the year.
Where I read this
- CMS Medicaid, CHIP and Basic Health Program eligibility levels — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, read September 10, 2026
- Vermont Legal Aid Health Care Advocate, 138 percent of the poverty level — Vermont Legal Aid, Office of the Health Care Advocate, read September 10, 2026
- Vermont Health Connect, How to Apply — Vermont Health Connect, read September 10, 2026
- Vermont Health Connect eligibility tables — Vermont Health Connect, read September 10, 2026