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Cost & Benefits

Benefits / Iowa

Medicaid eligibility in Iowa

Simple answer

Yes, many low-income adults can qualify.

In Iowa, many adults qualify around 138% of the poverty line. For one adult, that is about $22,025 a year.

Who is inside Medicaid or CHIP on the rules we can verify? A household of four is measured against $33,000. Iowa has adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion.

The largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap among ranked metros in Iowa is $90: Omaha at $1,450 and Des Moines at $1,360.

Iowa taxes wages at a flat 3.80%. Combined state and local sales tax is 6.9%. The ACS effective property tax rate is 1.29%.

A household of four with $48,000 of income is about 145 percent of the $33,000 poverty guideline and is a maybe for Medicaid and CHIP. Maybe — a state pathway is unverified or only part of the household fits.

Limits behind the page

2026 poverty guideline in Iowa
Household100%138%185%
1$15,960$22,025$29,526
2$21,640$29,863$40,034
3$27,320$37,702$50,542
4$33,000$45,540$61,050

An illustrative household

Two adults, ages 34 and 32, filing jointly, plus children ages 8 and 3. Gross income $48,000 a year, about 145 percent of the poverty guideline in Iowa. They rent. Nobody is marked disabled or pregnant.

Medicaid and CHIP

Maybe

Maybe — a state pathway is unverified or only part of the household fits

  • This household is at 145 percent of the 2026 poverty guideline for Iowa ($33,000). 138 percent of that guideline is $45,540.
  • Children above 138 percent of poverty may still qualify for CHIP. The CHIP ceiling in Iowa is not verified in the dataset.
  • Iowa expanded Medicaid, and this income is over the 138 percent adult limit. Marketplace coverage is the next place to look.
See Medicaid and CHIP on HealthCare.gov

Check my household · Privacy

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Iowa

Other programs in Iowa

Large metros in Iowa

Medicaid and CHIP in other states