Does unemployment count as income for medicaid eligibility in NYS?
I'm currently receiving unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor and need to apply for Medicaid. My UI payments are around $320 per week. Does this count as income when they determine if I qualify for Medicaid? I'm worried my unemployment benefits might put me over the income limit. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
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Carmen Ortiz
Yes, unemployment benefits do count as income for Medicaid eligibility purposes. However, the income limits for Medicaid in New York are actually pretty generous - around $1,677 per month for a single person in 2025. Your $320/week ($1,280/month) should still qualify you. You'll need to report your UI benefits when you apply.
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Yuki Yamamoto
•That's a relief! I was panicking thinking I'd lose health coverage while unemployed. Do I need any special documentation from NYS Department of Labor when I apply?
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Andre Rousseau
definitely counts as income but like the other person said the limits are higher now. i had to deal with this last year when i was on unemployment. they asked for my benefit statement from the nys department of labor website as proof
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Zoe Papadakis
Wait, what if my unemployment runs out while I'm on Medicaid? Do I need to report that change too? I'm so confused about all these income reporting requirements...
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Carmen Ortiz
•Yes, you need to report any income changes to Medicaid within 10 days. If your UI benefits end, that's actually good news for Medicaid - lower income means you'll definitely stay eligible.
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Jamal Carter
I struggled with this exact situation and couldn't get through to anyone at the Medicaid office for weeks. If you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about getting documentation for your Medicaid application, I found a service called Claimyr that actually got me through to an agent the same day. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration with the phone system.
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Yuki Yamamoto
•Thanks for the tip! I might need that if I have trouble getting my benefit verification letter.
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AstroAdventurer
this whole system is such a mess. you need income to survive but then they penalize you for having income when you try to get healthcare. makes no sense
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Mei Liu
Same boat here! Just applied for Medicaid while getting UI benefits and got approved within 2 weeks. The income limits are definitely doable if you're on regular unemployment.
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Margot Quinn
Just went through this process myself a few months ago! Yes, unemployment benefits count as income, but don't stress - the Medicaid income limits in NY are pretty reasonable. I was getting about $350/week in UI benefits and still qualified easily. When you apply, you'll need to provide your most recent benefit statement from the NY DOL website. Pro tip: apply online through NY State of Health if you can - it's much faster than the paper application. The whole process took about 3 weeks for me and I got approved without any issues.
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