July 7, 2011: Under new guidelines that took effect on July 1, 2011, children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) are now eligible for health insurance coverage through West Virginia’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This means that families earning up to $67,050 can enroll children for coverage. The previous CHIP income cap in West Virginia was 250 percent FPL, or $55,000 for a family of four.
Newly-eligible families will fall into the WVCHIP Premium Plan category, which requires a monthly premium payment of $35 per month for one child or $71 per month for two or more children. Total cost-sharing is capped at five percent of household income.
To learn more about state-level CHIP coverage, see SHADAC’s summary of CHIP statistics from MACPAC’s March 2011 and June 2011 reports to Congress.