CHIP

If your child was born in Texas, you do not need to send a copy of the child’s birth certificate. We can find a copy of the certificate in our system. If the child was born in another state or another country, you will need to send a copy of the child’s birth certificate along with the other items we need to prove your income and expenses.

You can send items we need, like copies of birth certificates, to:
HHSC
P.O. Box 14200
Midland, TX 79711-4200

Or fax the items to 1-877-542-5951.

You do not need to prove your child's citizenship if the child was born in Texas. We can look up Texas birth certificates in our system. If your child was not born in Texas, you must include with your application a copy of one of the following for the child:
 

• U.S. birth certificate
• U.S. passport
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Hospital record of birth (front and back)

Yes. You will need to send with your application a copy of one of the following for the child:

• Front and back of Permanent Resident Card (I-551)
• Arrival/Departure Form (I-94) From the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

No, you do not need to list them. You do not need to list their income. You only need to list the parents, stepparents, and children age 18 and younger and their incomes on the CHIP/Children’s Medicaid application.

No, you should not list the names of children living with you who are not yours.

The application asks for your family’s gross income. This is the money you are paid before taxes and deductions.

Yes, child support payments you get count as income when we look at whether your children can get CHIP or Children’s Medicaid. You need to send us proof of child support payments, such as a copy of the child support check or a copy of the court order, when you send in the application.

SNAP food benefits (food stamps) are not considered income for this application. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is considered income. You can send us a copy of the letter that shows the amount of TANF benefits and the length of time you will be getting TANF.

If you are self-employed, your proof can be a copy of your most recent IRS tax return including Schedule C or the Schedule C-EZ. If you send the Schedule C-EZ, you should also send documents that prove the business deductions you claimed on the form. We will use that information when we look at expenses we can deduct when we are calculating your income.

If the paycheck stub you send us as proof of income shows overtime, we will use that in our calculations to find out if your children qualify for CHIP or Children’s Medicaid. It will help if you send us a paycheck stub you got in the last 60 days that shows how much you usually make.

Yes. You need to send us proof of these expenses, such as a copy of a cancelled check or a signed and dated statement from the child care center that shows how much you pay each week or month. Send these copies with your finished CHIP/Children’s Medicaid application. We can deduct up to $200/month in child care expenses for a child age 1 year and younger and up to $175/month in child care expenses for a child age 2 and older.

You can send us a copy of the divorce decree or the court order that shows the amounts of these payments. You can also show us copies of cancelled checks.

If your income is below 150% of the federal poverty level (income of less than $33,525 for a family of four), we will not look at the things you own (your assets) when we are deciding whether your children qualify for CHIP or Children’s Medicaid.If your income is above 150% of the federal poverty level, the dollar limit for the things you own is $10,000. That includes bank accounts, cash, extra cars, etc. Your home and your main car are not counted as asset for this purpose. Neither are certain financial accounts like retirement accounts and college savings plans recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you have questions about this, call CHIP/Children’s Medicaid toll-free at 1-877-543-7669.

For most households, the main car or truck is not counted as an asset. Other cars and trucks might not be counted if they are used primarily for making money.

Yes. We work with community groups in many parts of Texas. These groups help families fill out application forms for programs like CHIP, Medicaid, food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and other services.

Want someone to help you?

Find the nearest place to get free help with your application:

You can also call CHIP/Children’s Medicaid toll-free at 1-877-543-7669.

If the missing information is something you can tell us over the phone, call us toll-free at 1-877-543-7669. Here’s a chart that shows what kind of information we can take over the phone.

If you need to send us items we need such as a copy of a recent paycheck stub or birth certificate, be sure to write your name on each item you send. You can mail them to:
HHSC
P.O. Box 14200
Midland, TX 79711-4200

Or fax the documents to 1-877-542-5951.

Call us toll-free at 1-877-543-7669. We can tell you where we are with your application. If you are renewing Medicaid coverage, you can visit your local HHSC benefits office. You can find the nearest office by dialing 2-1-1 or searching our office locations online.

Our staff has up to 45 days to work on your application. Once we have finished, we will send you a letter to let you know if your children qualify or not. If they do qualify, we’ll mail you a new member packet that will tell you which program – CHIP or Children’s Medicaid – they qualify for. That new member packet will have instructions for how to get your children signed up with a health plan.

If you’d like to get an update about your application, please call us at 1-877-543-7669.

Mail a check to:
HHSC
P.O. Box 660287
Dallas, TX 75266-9792

You can also pay online by credit card.

You can call CHIP/Children’s Medicaid toll-free at 1-877-543-7669. Tell them you need a refund on your enrollment fee.