Page 19

Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual Eligibility Factors

Issued January 7, 2026 Page 19 of I-1550 Replacing November 13, 2025

Revised/added text indicated by underscore Deleted text indicated by “**” Note:

Verify:  All self-employment income, unless the self-attested amount indicates obvious ineligibility.  Income of a non-applicant who refuses to provide their SSN, unless the non-applicant is not in the MAGI household of the applicant.

See S-0000 Verification and Documentation for more information.

I-1554.1 Income Budgeting

Use current monthly household income received based on the latest information available to the agency. Include all amounts that the applicant/beneficiary will be expected to receive in the current month. Account for future decreases in monthly household income. (e.g., termination, interruption, change in number of hours worked, changes in hourly wage, changing from full-time to part-time, etc.).

Note: A change for purposes of this section does not include normal fluctuations in the number of hours worked, amount paid or short term temporary changes such as covering for another employee who was ill.

To determine gross monthly income, use the following conversion factors:  Divide yearly income by 12;  Multiply weekly income by four (4);  Add amounts received twice a month; or  Multiply amounts received every other week by two (2).

Certain pre-tax deductions allowed by the IRS are not included when determining taxable income for MAGI budgeting. Pre-tax deductions must be clearly designated on the employee’s paystub or W-2 forms showing both the total gross earnings and the adjusted taxable gross earnings. The deductions listed below are only allowable when they belong to someone in the tax filing unit or in the household (for non-filers). Pre- tax deductions may include but are not limited to:  Dependent care expenses