What Is the Income Limit for Medicaid in New Mexico?

The income limit for Medicaid in New Mexico depends on who is applying. Most adults ages 19 to 64 qualify if household income is at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, which works out to $1,835 per month for a single person in 2026.¹ Children, pregnant individuals, and people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled follow different, usually higher, thresholds, and some of those groups also face an asset test. The program itself is called Centennial Care and is run by the New Mexico Health Care Authority.²

Adults Ages 19 to 64

The rule in statute is 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, but New Mexico applies a mandatory 5% income disregard before measuring your income against the limit.³ The practical effective limit is 138% of the Federal Poverty Level.¹

In 2026, that translates to the following monthly caps by household size:⁴

1 person: $1,835
2 people: $2,489
3 people: $3,142
4 people: $3,795

Each additional person in the household raises the limit by roughly $653 per month. The federal poverty guidelines are updated every January, so these numbers shift slightly from year to year.

Income for this group is counted using Modified Adjusted Gross Income, the same figure you report on your federal tax return. Wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, and investment income all count. Deductions like student loan interest and IRA contributions reduce the total. There is no asset or resource test for this group, so savings, a second vehicle, or money in the bank do not knock you out.

Children

Children can qualify at much higher income levels than adults, and the exact cutoff depends on the child’s age. New Mexico stacks a few categories so that families with moderate earnings still have a path to coverage for their kids.

For children under age 6:¹

Standard Medicaid up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level
Children’s Medicaid from 200% to 240%
CHIP Children’s Medicaid from 240% to 300%

For children ages 6 through 18:

Standard Medicaid up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level
Children’s Medicaid from 138% to 190%
CHIP Children’s Medicaid from 190% to 240%

In 2026 dollars, a family of four with a child under 6 can earn roughly $8,250 per month and still qualify through CHIP. The same family with only a teenager would qualify up to about $6,430 per month.⁴ All children’s categories use Modified Adjusted Gross Income, and none has an asset test.

Pregnant Individuals

Pregnancy-related Medicaid uses a 250% Federal Poverty Level cap, one of the most generous thresholds in the program.⁵ For a household of two in 2026, that is $4,407 per month. For a household of four it rises to $6,698 per month.¹ Income is counted the same MAGI way, and there is no asset test.

Adults 65 and Older, Blind, or Disabled

Eligibility for this group does not use Modified Adjusted Gross Income. It is tied instead to Supplemental Security Income standards, and most applicants face both an income test and an asset test.¹

If you already receive SSI, the Social Security Administration handles the Medicaid determination and you are automatically enrolled with no separate application. The 2026 SSI income limit is $994 per month for an individual.⁶

The asset side of the test is strict. Countable resources must stay below $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Cash, bank balances, stocks, bonds, and real estate other than your primary home all count. Your home, one vehicle, household goods, and personal belongings do not.⁷

Nursing Home and Institutional Care

Applicants who need nursing facility care or other institutional services use a higher income cap: $2,982 per month in 2026, which is 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. All other SSI eligibility criteria still apply.⁸

Going over $2,982 does not automatically disqualify you. New Mexico allows a Qualified Income Trust, sometimes called a Miller Trust. Excess income is deposited into the irrevocable trust each month, and once it flows through, it no longer counts toward the eligibility limit. Trust funds can only pay specific things: your share of nursing facility costs, health insurance premiums, and a small personal needs allowance. Attorneys typically draft these trusts for a fee between $400 and $2,000.

Protections for the Spouse at Home

When one spouse enters a nursing facility and the other stays in the community, federal spousal impoverishment rules protect the at-home spouse. In 2026, the community spouse can keep between $32,532 and $162,660 in countable assets, depending on the couple’s total resources, and is entitled to a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance of $2,643.75 from the institutionalized spouse’s income.⁹

Working Disabled Program

People with disabilities who are employed have their own category with much more room on both income and assets. Earnings can reach 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, individual assets can go up to $10,000, and a couple’s assets up to $15,000. You must be working and have a disability determination from the Social Security Administration or the state’s disability determination unit.¹⁰ Being over 65 by itself does not qualify you as disabled under this program.

Checking Your Income Against the Limit

Which income you count depends on which category you fall into. The adult, children’s, and pregnancy categories all use Modified Adjusted Gross Income, the same number on your federal tax return, with the 5% disregard baked into the published 138% figure for adults. The aged, blind, and disabled categories use SSI counting rules, which treat income differently and include an asset test.

If your income looks like it is just above a cutoff, it is worth confirming that every allowable deduction and disregard has been applied, because the rules differ by category and small differences in how income is counted can change the result.

1
New Mexico Health Care Authority. New Mexico Medical Assistance Programs Eligibility Categories
2
New Mexico Health Care Authority. Centennial Care
3
New Mexico Health Care Authority. Medicaid Eligibility – Income Standards and Affordable Care Financial Responsibility Requirements
4
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
5
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Admin Code 8.294.500.10 – Income Standard
6
Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026
7
New Mexico Health Care Authority. 8.215.500 NMAC – Income and Resource Standards
8
New Mexico Health Care Authority. 8.281.400 NMAC – Institutional Care Recipient Policies
9
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards
10
New Mexico Health Care Authority. Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid Programs – Federal Poverty Levels