CHIP exists specifically for the income gap a lot of working families fall into: too much income to qualify for Medicaid, not enough to comfortably afford private health insurance for their kids. Every state has to set its CHIP income cutoff at 200% of the federal poverty level or higher — that's the federal floor, not a suggestion. * Most states set their actual limit well above that floor. The national median cutoff for children sits around 255% of the federal poverty level, and some states extend coverage as high as 400% FPL, covering a meaningfully broader range of middle-income families than the federal minimum would. * Translated into real dollars for 2026, 200% FPL works out to roughly $54,640 a year for a family of three. At the more common 255% FPL median, that same family could earn up to roughly $69,666 and still qualify. In a state with a 317% FPL limit, the number climbs to around $86,604 for the same family size. * Because every state runs its own program with its own specific cutoff, and often applies different rules for infants versus older children, the only way to know your family's exact number is to check with your specific state's Medicaid/CHIP agency or apply directly through Healthcare.gov, which routes applications to the correct state program automatically. * CHIP covers roughly 7 to 8 million children nationwide, and coverage is either free or low-cost depending on where your income falls within your state's specific sliding scale.