Compare

Medicaid vs the ACA marketplace, side by side

Both are checked through the same application at Healthcare.gov, but they work differently once you're enrolled.

How this table is built.

Typical monthly cost to the enrollee
How eligibility is determined
How often coverage is re-verified
How much plan choice is available

Factor	Medicaid	CHIP	ACA Marketplace
Who it's generally for	Low-income households, varies by state and category	Children above the Medicaid income line but still modest income	Households above the Medicaid/CHIP income line
Typical monthly cost	Little to none for most enrollees	None to modest, depending on state	Premiums, often reduced by subsidies based on income
How eligibility is decided	Income and household size, plus category and state rules	State-set income limit above Medicaid's line	Income relative to federal poverty level, no hard cap on subsidy eligibility
How often re-verified	Periodic redetermination, generally annual	Periodic renewal, generally annual	Annual re-enrollment during open enrollment
Plan choice	State-specific managed care plan list	State-specific managed care plan list	Multiple private insurers competing on Healthcare.gov
Where you apply	State Medicaid agency or Healthcare.gov	State Medicaid/CHIP agency or Healthcare.gov	Healthcare.gov or your state marketplace

This table cannot tell you which program your specific household qualifies for — that depends on your state, income, and household size, and is only determined through an actual application.

Next step

If marketplace coverage fits your household

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eHealth — marketplace plan comparison

An independent marketplace that lets you compare ACA and off-exchange private plans from multiple carriers in one place.

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