New Jersey Medicaid for Families and Children

The largest single group of people covered by New Jersey Medicaid is made up of children under 18 and their parents with very low incomes. Currently, about 265,000 New Jersey Medicaid beneficiaries fit this description.

Historically, New Jersey Medicaid was linked to welfare benefits and these very-low income families, many of them single mothers with children, qualified because they received welfare benefits. However, since the advent of federal welfare-to-work legislation in 1996, Medicaid is now a separate benefit. It is a fundamental part of the support services offered when the adults in the family are seeking employment or are working but their income still qualifies them for the program.

Families do not have to be receiving cash assistance through Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) to be eligible for New Jersey Medicaid.

In general, families with dependent children who are financially eligible can qualify for New Jersey Medicaid in three different ways:

1. If the children are living with their natural or adoptive parents or family members, and one or both of the parents have died, are incapacitated or are absent;

2. If both parents are in the home, neither is incapacitated and the principle wage earner is unemployed;

3. If both parents are in the home, neither is incapacitated but the family income is inadequate to support the family.

To determine eligibility for this program, the income of all family members is counted. There is no deduction for unearned income. Earned income is reduced by $90 and childcare costs deductions may not be greater than $200/month.

For additional information about income eligibility or for other questions about this program, contact your appropriate local office.

Other New Jersey Medicaid programs and New Jersey FamilyCare offer healthcare for families with somewhat higher incomes. For information on these programs, contact your appropriate local office or call New Jersey Medicaid at 1800-356-1561 or NJ FamilyCare at 1-800-701-0710.