Your situation
How much can I earn before I lose Medicaid?
Where the Medicaid line sits, and why crossing it can hurt.
The short answer
In states that expanded Medicaid, adults keep it up to about 138 percent of the federal poverty line, and children usually qualify higher. Cross that line and coverage stops, so you buy a marketplace plan instead. In Ohio, losing coverage is part of a raise that costs a family $19,076 a year.
Medicaid eligibility is set by income, measured against the federal poverty line for your family size. In the states that expanded Medicaid, adults qualify up to roughly 138 percent of that line, and children often qualify well above it through CHIP. In the states that did not expand, the limit for adults is far lower, and childless adults frequently cannot get it at any income.
The catch is that Medicaid is all or nothing at the line. Unlike food help, which shrinks gradually, coverage does not taper. One dollar over the limit and the whole benefit stops, and you move to a marketplace plan with a monthly premium. When that switch lands in the same income band as other benefits falling away, it turns a raise into a cliff.
A worked example
What losing coverage looks like in a real raise, for a family of 4 in Ohio:
Calculated live from published government rules for a family of 4 in Ohio, the same engine behind the calculator.
Losing Medicaid is rarely the whole story on its own. The marketplace plan you move to comes with premium tax credits that soften the cost, and just below 250 percent of the poverty line those plans also carry extra cost-sharing help. The sharp part is the switch itself, landing alongside other benefits that fall away in the same narrow band.
The practical move is to know your own line. The free tool shows the income where Medicaid stops for your household, what the replacement coverage costs, and the income further up that clears the whole cliff so a raise pays off again.
See the cliff where you live
The band where benefits fall away is different in every state. Pick yours to see the real number for a family like yours.
Questions people ask
- What is the income limit for Medicaid?
- In states that expanded Medicaid, adults qualify up to about 138 percent of the federal poverty line, and children usually qualify higher through CHIP. In states that did not expand, the adult limit is much lower and childless adults often cannot qualify at any income. The exact dollar figure depends on your family size and state.
- Do I lose Medicaid the moment I go over the limit?
- Effectively yes. Medicaid does not taper like food help does, so one dollar over the line ends coverage and moves you to a marketplace plan. That plan comes with premium tax credits, but the switch itself is abrupt, which is what can make it part of a cliff.
- How do I find the income where I lose Medicaid?
- Enter your state, family size, and income into the free CliffCheck tool. It marks the exact income where Medicaid stops, shows the cost of the coverage that replaces it, and the safe exit income that clears the cliff. For a family of 4 in Ohio, that switch is part of a $19,076 drop. Your numbers stay on your phone.