Howard County - Maryland Children's Health Program

County Executive County Council

Maryland Children's Health Program

Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP)
Maryland Children Health Program Premium (MCHP Premium) Medical Assistance for Families
Primary Adult Care Program (PAC)
Healthy Howard Health Plan (HHHP)

Maryland Children's Health Program

This program provides full health care coverage to pregnant women and children up to 19 years of age. Covered services include in-patient hospital care, doctor visits, lab tests, dental care, eye care, medicines and immunizations. Applicants may not have voluntarily dropped employer-sponsored group health plan or health insurance coverage within 6 months before the date of their application.

Am I eligible?
To qualify, you must meet these requirements:

Children under age 19, who are not eligible for Medicaid, and whose annual household income is no more than 200% of the federal poverty level or FPL (see Income Chart)
Pregnant women of any age, whose annual household income is no more than 250% of the federal poverty level or FPL
U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident or qualified alien (including Refugees and Asylees)

How do I apply?

To apply, ask questions or get further information, contact our MCHP offices at 410-988-3737 ext. 10 or come into our Door to HealthCare located to the rear of 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia MD, 21046 (next to the Columbia Health Center)

Office Hours are: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Click here to download an application. English, Espanol

Mail your completed application and the required documents to:
Fax completed applications and required documents to 410-313-5838

Maryland Children Health Program Premium (MCHP Premium)

If children are not eligible for free health care services through MCHP, there is MCHP Premium. This program provides full health care coverage for a small monthly fee to children under 19 years of age whose family income exceeds the income limit for MCHP. The cost per family is $46.00 - $58.00 per month.

Am I eligible?

To qualify, you must meet these requirements:

Children under age 19, who are not eligible for Medicaid, and whose annual household income is more than 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) but less than 300% of the federal poverty level (see Income Chart).
U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident or qualified alien (including Refugees and Asylees)

How do I apply?

To apply, ask questions or get further information, contact our MCHP offices at 410-988-3737 ext. 10 or come into our Door to HealthCare located to the rear of 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia MD, 21046 (next to the Columbia Health Center)

Office Hours are: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Call 1-800-456-8900 and ask to have an application mailed to you.
Click here to download an application. English, Espanol
Mail your completed application and the required documents to:

Fax completed applications and required documents to 410-313-5838

Medical Assistance for Families (MA for Families)

Medical Assistance for Families provides free and full health care coverage to low-income families with dependent children. This program began in July of 2008 and expands Medicaid eligibility to thousands more Maryland families. Covered services include in-patient hospital care, medical doctor visits, lab tests, low cost or free medicines and immunizations.

Am I eligible?

To qualify for MA for Families, you must meet all of these requirements:

Families whose annual household income is not more than 116% of the federal poverty level or FPL (see Income Chart)
U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident or qualified alien (including Refugees and Asylees)

How do I apply?

Office Hours are: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Call 1-800-456-8900 and ask to have an application mailed to you.
Click here to download an application. English, Espanol
Mail your completed application and the required documents to:
OR
Fax completed applications and required documents to 410-313-5838

Primary Adult Care Program (PAC)

PAC provides limited benefit health insurance coverage to individuals over the age of 19 and families without children with very limited income and resources. This program covers prescription drugs, primary care physician office visits, mental health care, and some limited additional health services. PAC does not cover services like in-patient hospital stays, out-patient hospital care, emergency room visits or visits to a specialist.

Am I eligible?

To qualify for PAC, you must meet all of these requirements:

Over the age of 19
Do not qualify for Medicare
Annual household income is not more than 116% of the federal poverty level or FPL (see Income Chart)
U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident for over five (5) years or qualified alien (including Refugees and Asylees)

How do I apply?

To apply, ask questions or get further information, contact our offices at 410-988-3737 ext. 10 or come into our Door to HealthCare located to the rear of 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia MD, 21046 (next to the Columbia Health Center)

Office Hours are: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Call 1-800-226-2142 to have an application mailed to you.
Click here to download an application. English, Espanol
Mail your completed application and the required documents to:

Healthy Howard Health Plan

This program gives residents of Howard County who currently do not have health insurance access to affordable medical and preventive care. The Healthy Howard Health Plan includes: primary care; deeply discounted prescription drugs; diagnostic and lab tests; urgent care; emergency room and hospital care; specialty care and personalized health coaching. Plan members are responsible for paying a monthly fee according to their income.

Am I eligible?
To qualify for the Healthy Howard Health Plan, you must meet all of these requirements:

Resident of Howard County
U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident
At least 19 years of age and less than 64 years of age
Not eligible or enrolled in Medicaid, Medicaid for Families, MCHP, Primary Adult Care Program, or Medicare
Annual household income is no more than 300% of the federal poverty level or FPL (see Income Chart)
Currently uninsured and not had health insurance for at least 6 months unless you involuntarily lost your health insurance due to a lay off

How do I apply?

Income Requirements for Health Care Programs

The health care programs listed above have different income requirements.

Look to see what your household income is according to the Federal Poverty Level or FPL.

This table shows the maximum yearly income according to the federal poverty level. Even if your income is higher than the amount shown for your family size, you may still qualify for one of the health care programs and should complete an application. For example, if you are self-employed, many programs count only half of your gross income.