Wyoming Medicaid Eligibility: Income Limits, Assets, and Look-Back

Wyoming Medicaid eligibility starts with a category, not an income number. To qualify for the program, branded as EqualityCare, you must be a child, a pregnant woman, a parent or caretaker relative living with a dependent child, or someone who is 65 or older, blind, or disabled. Low income by itself is not enough. Because Wyoming has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, most working-age adults without children do not qualify no matter how little they earn.

If you fit one of the categories, a second test applies: your income (and, for the aged, blind, and disabled pathway, your assets) must fall under the limit set for that group. Those limits vary sharply, from 46 percent of the federal poverty level for parents up to 200 percent for children in Kid Care CHIP.

Who Qualifies

Wyoming recognizes five eligibility groups:

Children ages 0 to 18, covered through traditional Medicaid or Kid Care CHIP depending on family income.
Pregnant women, covered for prenatal care, labor and delivery, and 12 months of postpartum services.
Parents and caretaker relatives living with a dependent child under 18. This group faces the strictest income ceiling in the program.
People age 65 or older.
People who meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of blindness or disability.

If you already receive Supplemental Security Income, you are automatically eligible for Wyoming Medicaid without a separate financial review.¹ Everyone else goes through one of two financial tests depending on their category.

Income Limits for Children, Pregnant Women, and Parents

Children, pregnant women, and parents are evaluated under Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) rules. These look at tax-based household income and ignore assets entirely. Thresholds are expressed as a percentage of the federal poverty level:²

Children ages 0 to 5 (Medicaid): up to 154% FPL
Children ages 6 to 18 (Medicaid): up to 133% FPL
Kid Care CHIP (all children): up to 200% FPL
Pregnant women: up to 154% FPL, or 159% FPL under the Pregnant by Choice program
Parents and caretaker relatives: up to 46% FPL³

The 2026 federal poverty guidelines set the baseline:⁴

1 person: $15,960 per year
2 people: $21,640 per year
3 people: $27,320 per year
4 people: $33,000 per year

Translated into dollars for a family of three: at 154% FPL, a child under 5 qualifies for Medicaid when household income is up to about $42,073 per year. A child aged 6 to 18 in that same family qualifies up to about $36,336. Kid Care CHIP covers children in families earning up to roughly $54,640. But the parents in that household qualify only if family income is under about $12,567 per year, or around $1,047 per month.² That gap catches many families off guard: the children qualify while the parents do not.

MAGI groups also get a 5 percent income disregard that effectively raises each stated threshold slightly. No asset test applies to these categories.

Income and Asset Limits for Aged, Blind, and Disabled Applicants

Applicants qualifying through age (65 or older), blindness, or disability follow SSI-related rules. For 2026, the SSI income standard is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 per month for a couple.⁵ Countable income, after disregards for earned and unearned income, must fall within these limits.

Unlike the MAGI groups, this pathway also looks at what you own. Countable resources cannot exceed $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a married couple.⁶

Not everything counts. The major exclusions:

Your primary home, as long as you intend to return to it or, for a couple, while the spouse continues living there.
One vehicle used for transportation.
Personal belongings and household goods.
Up to $1,500 in burial funds per person.

Everything else counts: bank accounts, stocks, bonds, additional real estate, and the cash value of life insurance above $1,500. Expect to provide three months of bank statements during the application process.⁷

Spousal Protections for Long-Term Care

When one spouse enters a nursing home and applies for Medicaid while the other stays in the community, federal spousal impoverishment rules protect the at-home spouse. For 2026, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance runs from a minimum of $32,532 to a maximum of $162,660. The community spouse keeps assets within that range, and only resources above the allowance count against the institutionalized spouse’s eligibility.

The community spouse is also entitled to a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance, which for 2026 sits between $2,643.75 and $4,066.50 per month depending on housing costs. If the community spouse’s own income falls short of that floor, part of the nursing home spouse’s income can be redirected to cover the gap. These figures are adjusted each year, and the calculations get complicated when the couple owns a home, has retirement accounts, or draws income from multiple sources.

The Five-Year Look-Back on Transfers

Wyoming reviews any assets you gave away or sold below fair market value during the 60 months before you applied for long-term care Medicaid. If the state finds uncompensated transfers in that window, it calculates a penalty period during which you are ineligible for Medicaid-funded long-term care. The penalty does not start until you are otherwise eligible and already residing in a facility, so poorly timed transfers can leave you paying out of pocket with no coverage.

Some transfers are exempt. Transfers to a spouse, to a blind or disabled child, to a trust established solely for a disabled person under 65, and certain transfers of the home to a child, sibling, or caretaker who meets specific residency criteria do not trigger a penalty. The penalty can also be avoided if the applicant shows the transfer was made for a reason other than qualifying for Medicaid, or if the assets are returned in full. Undue hardship waivers exist but are applied narrowly.⁸

Residency and Citizenship

You must be a Wyoming resident, meaning you live in the state and intend to remain. Federal regulations do not allow Wyoming to impose a minimum residency period, so you do not need to have lived here for any set time before applying. The residency rule includes people without a fixed address. Someone in a nursing home or other institution who became unable to express intent at or after age 21 is considered a resident of the state where they are physically located.⁹

You must also be a U.S. citizen or a qualified noncitizen. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, and certain other immigration categories qualify. Most lawful permanent residents face a five-year waiting period before accessing full Medicaid benefits; refugees and asylees are exempt from that bar.¹⁰

How to Apply

Wyoming takes applications through several channels:¹¹

Online at wesystem.wyo.gov
By mail: Wyoming Department of Health, Customer Service Center, 3001 E. Pershing Blvd., Suite 125, Cheyenne, WY 82001
By fax: 1-855-329-5205
By email: wesapplications@wyo.gov
By phone: 1-855-294-2127

Gather your documents first. You will need proof of citizenship, date of birth, Social Security numbers for each household member, proof of identity, and income verification for the last 30 days — pay stubs for employees, or the most recent tax return or current business ledger if you are self-employed.⁷ For the aged, blind, or disabled pathway, add bank statements and documentation of other assets. Bring information on any existing health insurance or Medicare coverage as well.

After You Apply: Timing, Appeals, and Renewals

Wyoming has up to 45 days to approve or deny a standard application. If the department needs more information from you, the window extends to 60 days. Applications requiring a disability determination can take up to 90 days.⁷ The decision arrives by mail.

If you are denied, or your benefits are reduced or terminated, the notice will explain why. You have 30 days from receipt to request a fair hearing.¹² Requesting a hearing within that window matters because in some cases your existing benefits can continue while the appeal is pending. Missing the deadline generally means accepting the decision unless you can show good cause.

Wyoming redetermines eligibility every year. When your renewal is due, the state mails a packet to complete and return. You can also renew online at wesystem.wyo.gov or by calling 1-855-294-2127. If you lose coverage because you missed a renewal deadline, you have up to 90 days after coverage ended to submit the required information; if you are still eligible, coverage can be backdated to close the gap.¹³

Estate Recovery After Death

If you receive long-term care Medicaid, Wyoming will seek to recover its costs from your estate after you die. Federal law requires every state to do this. Recovery is limited to benefits paid after you turned 55 or during any period of institutionalization in a nursing facility or similar institution, and the claim does not include interest.¹⁴

The state will not pursue a claim while a surviving spouse is alive, or while a child of the recipient is under 21, blind, or permanently disabled. Recovery is also delayed when the recipient is survived by a sibling with an equity interest in the home who lived there for at least a year before the recipient entered a facility, or by a child who lived in the home for at least two years before institutionalization and provided care that allowed the recipient to stay home. Undue hardship waivers exist but are narrow: the property must be part of a working farm or ranch, be the heirs’ sole source of income, and provide them food and shelter — all three.¹⁵

1
Wyoming Department of Health. Programs and Eligibility
2
Wyoming Department of Health. Medicaid Income Requirements
3
Wyoming Department of Health. 2026 Healthcare Coverage Options in Wyoming
4
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. 2026 Poverty Guidelines for 48 Contiguous States
5
Social Security Administration. How Much You Could Get From SSI
6
Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Resources
7
Wyoming Department of Health. Frequently Asked Medicaid Questions
8
Justia Law. Wyoming Code 42-2-402 – Welfare
9
eCFR. 42 CFR 435.403 – State Residence
10
eCFR. 42 CFR 435.406 – Citizenship and Noncitizen Eligibility
11
Wyoming Department of Health. Apply for Medicaid or Kid Care CHIP
12
HealthCare.gov. Medicaid Program Names and Appeals Contact Information
13
Wyoming Department of Health. Wyoming Medicaid Renewals Continue Across State
14
Justia Law. Wyoming Code 42-4-206 – Claims Against Estates
15
Wyoming Department of Health. Wyoming Medicaid Estate Recovery Program