Alabama Medicaid Office

Alabama Medicaid Agency (AMA)

Alabama Medicaid's managed-care structure is not built like most states. The Alabama Medicaid Agency (AMA) names two separate managed care tracks — Alabama Coordinated Health Networks (ACHN) and Integrated Care Networks (ICN) — rather than contracting a single roster of full-risk MCOs that covers every recipient. Members route to one or the other based on the services they need, and AMA publishes separate contact lines for each.

How the agency organizes its contacts

AMA's Contact Us page splits inbound calls and outreach into four streams, each with its own page:

• Alabama Medicaid Contacts — general agency contact information.
• Contacts for Applicants — for people who haven't applied or are mid-application.
• Provider Contacts — for medical providers billing or enrolling with Medicaid.
• ACHN Recipient Contacts — for recipients enrolled in an Alabama Coordinated Health Network.

Where to start

• Recipient Call Center — call toll-free (800) 362-1504, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Central.
• Apply online (MAGI programs) — Insure Alabama at insurealabama.adph.state.al.us for pregnant women, children, parent/caretaker, and Plan First applicants.
• My Medicaid (current members) — view or print your card, change information, or check status at medicaidhcp.alabamaservices.org.
• AMA website — medicaid.alabama.gov for program pages, forms, and the agency's Quick Reference Guide to frequently called numbers.

The agency lists District Office locations and maps under Contact Us; visitors can request driving directions to the AMA Central Office in Montgomery from the same page.

Who qualifies for Alabama Medicaid?

Alabama Medicaid has not adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion. AMA frames eligibility around a set of categorical programs, each with its own requirements; the agency puts it plainly: each Medicaid program has its own requirements, and all programs have income requirements. Some programs add age requirements or limit eligibility to specific groups such as pregnant women or people who also have Medicare.

Scale of the program

AMA reports that in 2022, more than 1 million Alabama citizens qualified for Medicaid benefits through the agency's mix of programs for children, families, pregnant women, and elderly or disabled people. That's roughly one in five Alabamians.

Eight applicant categories

The Apply page lists eight applicant categories. Each links to its own eligibility detail page:

• Medicaid for Children
• Medicaid for Parents and Caretaker Relatives
• Medicaid for Pregnant Women
• Medicaid for the Elderly and Disabled
• Medicaid in the Nursing Home
• Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
• Plan First Family Planning Program
• Help Paying for Medicare Costs (Medicare Savings Programs)

The Qualifying for Medicaid page narrows the same set to seven Eligibility Categories under AMA — the eight Applicant Categories collapse where Parents/Caretaker Relatives and Medicaid for Children share an application path.

The binding rules

AMA's eligibility rules are codified at Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 25. The Code is the formal source for who qualifies and how income, household composition, and citizenship are tested. Most applicants don't need to read it — the agency's categorical pages summarize what each program requires. AMA's Documenting Citizenship and Identity for Alabama Medicaid handout walks applicants through the proof requirements.

Alabama Medicaid income limits

AMA publishes Alabama Medicaid income limits as a separate PDF chart linked from the Qualifying for Medicaid page. The current chart was updated March 11, 2026; AMA refreshes it after each annual federal poverty level (FPL) update, so dollar figures shift year to year. The PDF is the authoritative source — this page intentionally does not republish the dollars to avoid drift between updates.

Where to find the current Alabama income limits

• Medicaid Income Limits PDF — linked from the Qualifying for Medicaid page on medicaid.alabama.gov. Look for the date stamp ("Updated 3/11/26" on the current version) to confirm you're reading the right one.
• AllKids Income Limits — a separate program for children's coverage; published by the Alabama Department of Public Health at alabamapublichealth.gov/allkids. AllKids fills the gap between Medicaid eligibility and the working-family income line for kids.
• Home and Community-Based Waivers — a separate Form 206 PDF on the same page lists the HCBS waiver eligibility detail.
• Administrative Code Chapter 25 — the binding eligibility rules at medicaid.alabama.gov/documents/9.0_Resources/9.2_Administrative_Code/.

How AMA structures income tests

Each of the seven Eligibility Categories on the Qualifying page (Parents and Caretaker Relatives, Pregnant Women, Plan First Family Planning, Nursing Home, Elderly and Disabled, Medicare Savings Programs, Breast and Cervical Cancer Program) uses its own income standard. Children's coverage is split between Medicaid (for the lower-income tier) and AllKids (for the working-family tier). Older adults dual-eligible with Medicare get the COLA Fact Sheet published by AMA so they can see how a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment affects their Medicare Savings Program eligibility.

What to do if you're unsure

AMA recommends contacting the Recipient Call Center at (800) 362-1504 or going to the program page for the category that fits your household. The agency does not publish a single eligibility lookup tool — the application itself is the way to find out whether you qualify.

How to apply for Alabama Medicaid

Alabama Medicaid routes applicants down different paths depending on which program fits. AMA publishes online tools for the MAGI-style tracks (children, pregnant women, parents and caretakers, Plan First family planning) on one portal, and runs the Elderly and Disabled and Nursing Home application on a separate portal. The Recipient Call Center handles questions for both.

AMA's three-step framing

The agency's Apply page lists three steps:

1. Meet all income, age, or other requirements.
2. Fill out all forms correctly and completely.
3. Apply online or turn your application form in to the right office or worker.

Where to apply, by category

• Pregnant women, children, parents/caretakers, and Plan First applicants — apply online at Insure Alabama (insurealabama.adph.state.al.us).
• Elderly and Disabled applicants — apply through the Elderly and Disabled Application portal at eanddapplication.medicaid.alabama.gov, or call the Recipient Call Center.
• Nursing facility applicants who need a fast decision — use the Expedite Application path linked from the Apply page.
• Pregnant women in a hospital setting — Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnancy (PEP) can be initiated at the hospital at pepapplication.medicaid.alabama.gov.
• By phone — Recipient Call Center toll-free (800) 362-1504, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central.

What to do after applying

Once enrolled, members manage their case through My Medicaid (medicaidhcp.alabamaservices.org): print or replace your card, change your information, or check your status. Address and family-size changes can be submitted through the My Medicaid portal or through Form 295 (the Recipient Changes form), available from AMA's Forms Library.

Help in another language

AMA publishes Spanish-language documents and lists "Getting Help in Other Languages" as a top-level Recipients page link; the agency also runs a Texting Service for members who prefer SMS over phone or web.

What Alabama Medicaid covers

AMA's managed-care setup is unusual: rather than contracting with full-risk MCOs that handle the whole benefit, the agency uses two regional networks — Alabama Coordinated Health Networks (ACHN) and Integrated Care Networks (ICN) — and assigns members based on their care needs. Most members work with an ACHN to find a primary care doctor and coordinate routine care; ICN handles long-term care populations.

What Alabama Medicaid covers

The agency groups covered benefits under six topics on its Programs page:

• Covered Services — the master list of benefits
• Medical Services — physician, hospital, EPSDT (4.2.3), dental (4.2.2), and related categories
• Pharmacy and DME Services — prescription benefits and durable medical equipment
• Medical Facilities — hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities
• Transportation — non-emergency medical transportation for covered visits
• ACHN (managed care) — care coordination through the Alabama Coordinated Health Networks

ACHN for primary care

ACHN recipients receive help finding a Primary Care Physician through the network. Once enrolled, members use the ACHN to coordinate referrals, manage chronic conditions, and access care-coordination services that go beyond what a single doctor's office can offer. AMA publishes a separate ACHN Recipients page with videos and contact information for each regional ACHN.

EPSDT for children

Children under 21 enrolled in Alabama Medicaid receive Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefits. AMA links the EPSDT Screening Program from the Managed Care page; the federal mandate covers any medically necessary service for a child, including dental, vision, hearing, and behavioral health that adult Medicaid in many non-expansion states covers less generously.

Maternity Program

AMA runs a Maternity Program for pregnant Medicaid members, coordinating prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum services. The program sits under Other Managed Care Programs (5.2.2) on the agency site.

Long-term services

Alabama covers nursing facility care for members who meet financial and functional eligibility under the Medicaid in the Nursing Home category. Home and Community-Based Services are documented through AMA's HCBS Waivers page; specific waiver names and capacity figures vary year to year and are published on that page.

Other state Medicaid pages