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Maine · licensed here · 2026 plan year

What Are the CoverME.gov Income Limits for 2026? MaineCare and Tax Credit Lines by Family Size

Written and reviewed by Dick Tracy, licensed health insurance broker (NPN 20414610) · Published September 18, 2026

🔍 Find my family's lines 📊 The full 2026 table 🧮 Estimate my tax credit in dollars

For 2026 coverage, CoverME.gov gives a premium tax credit to households up to 400% of the poverty level: $62,600 for one person and $128,600 for a family of four. One dollar over and the credit is zero, because the enhanced credits expired December 31, 2025, and Maine has no state subsidy to soften it. Adults 21 to 64 under $1,836 a month for one person, or $3,796 for a family of four, go to MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program. Maine's unusual line is the one for kids: children and young adults under 21 qualify for MaineCare up to $4,057 a month for a household of one and $8,388 a month for a family of four, about $100,000 a year, so in most Maine families under that figure the kids belong in MaineCare, not on the CoverME.gov plan. Every line for households of one to eight is below, then the doors if you are over the top one. I educate, you decide.

The full Maine income chart for 2026

Two programs, two poverty tables. The tax-credit range for 2026 coverage runs on the 2025 poverty guidelines ($15,650 for one person plus $5,500 each), because the federal rule sets a plan year's eligibility with the prior year's table. MaineCare runs on the 2026 guidelines ($15,960 plus $5,680). CoverME.gov does not publish an income chart of its own; its 2026 open enrollment report puts the top line at $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four, the same figures the IRS will use. Notice that the children's line is higher than the tax-credit line for small households: a parent and one child at $60,000 a year are over the adult's MaineCare line, under the 400% line for the parent's credit, and the child is still under the $5,501 a month ($66,012 a year) MaineCare line for a household of two. The CoverME.gov page about MaineCare still shows older figures; the ones below are from the Office for Family Independence, which runs the program.

Sources: Maine DHHS Office for Family Independence, 2026 MaineCare eligibility guidelines; CoverME.gov, 2026 Open Enrollment Overview; CoverME.gov FAQs. The state's monthly limits behind the table: adults 21 to 64 $1,836 for one, $2,490 for two, $3,142 for three, $3,796 for four, plus $654 for each additional member; children and young adults $4,057, $5,501, $6,944, $8,388, plus $1,444. MaineCare also covers pregnancy at a higher line than the adult one; the state's page has those figures. For 2027 coverage the tax credit table moves to the 2026 guidelines: $63,840 for one and $132,000 for four at the cliff.

Why Maine has no state subsidy, and what reinsurance does instead

Some states I work in wrote their own check when the enhanced credits expired. Maine did not. The Bureau of Insurance says it plainly in its own rate presentation: the tax credits on CoverME.gov are funded by the federal government. What Maine does have is a reinsurance program, the Maine Guaranteed Access Reinsurance Association, which pays part of the largest claims so carriers file lower rates across the state's merged individual and small-group market. The Bureau's figures for 2026 put the savings at 7.5% for Anthem, 5.7% for Community Health Options, and 6.5% for Harvard Pilgrim. That discount is in the sticker price, so it helps people over the line too, but it is single digits against a 24% increase.

Sources: Maine Bureau of Insurance, presentation on 2026 health insurance rates, October 1, 2025; Maine Bureau of Insurance, MGARA information.

What CoverME.gov plans cost in 2026, and what is approved for 2027

Sources: KFF, 2026 benchmark premiums; KFF, marketplace enrollment; CoverME.gov, 2026 Open Enrollment Overview.

The Bureau of Insurance announced an average increase of 23.9% for individual plans on September 4, 2025; its October presentation, after a revision to catastrophic plans, shows a weighted average of 24.2%, with Anthem at 23.5%, Harvard Pilgrim at 21.3%, Community Health Options at 26.5%, and Mending Health (formerly Taro) at 32.7%. Where you live matters: the second-lowest-cost silver plan for a 40-year-old runs $673 a month in Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and York counties and $755 in Aroostook, Hancock, and Washington, against $522 to $593 in 2025. CoverME.gov's own report shows what that did. Sign-ups fell nearly 10% to 58,523, the lowest since the state launched its own marketplace. The average premium is $178 a month with tax credits and $811 without. Bronze plans went from 46% of selections to 58%, and 22% of enrollees pay more than $1,000 a month. By May 2026 nearly 14,300 people had cancelled, and people without tax credits were 47% of the cancellations though only 25% of the sign-ups. For 2027 the Bureau has approved an average increase of 14.8%: Anthem 15.8%, Harvard Pilgrim 6.6%, Community Health Options 19.5%. Mending Health leaves the market January 1, 2027, which takes Maine to three carriers on the exchange.

Sources: Maine Bureau of Insurance, September 4, 2025; Bureau of Insurance presentation, October 1, 2025; Maine DHHS, July 8, 2026; Bureau of Insurance, 2027 rate summary; CoverME.gov news and updates.

MaineCare: adults, and everyone under 21

MaineCare is Maine's Medicaid program. Adults 21 to 64 qualify at 138% of poverty, the adult line in the table. The line that surprises people is the one for children and young adults through age 20: about 305% of poverty, $8,388 a month for a family of four, since Maine raised it in October 2023. MaineCare also covers children under 21 and pregnant women regardless of immigration status. The practical point for a family on CoverME.gov: if a household of four earns $95,000, the parents buy a marketplace plan with a tax credit and the kids, including a 19 or 20 year old, go to MaineCare. CoverME.gov's own numbers show it happening: enrollees under 21 fell from 10,232 in 2023 to 7,019 in 2026. If someone quoted you a family premium with the kids on it, the quote is probably wrong.

Sources: Maine DHHS Office for Family Independence, health care assistance; Maine DHHS, coverage regardless of immigration status; CoverME.gov, 2026 Open Enrollment Overview.

MaineCare changes coming January 1, 2027

Starting January 1, 2027, adults covered through the MaineCare expansion will need to meet new federal work requirements: 80 hours a month of work or other qualifying activity, or at least $580 earned in a month. Members renewing in 2027 must show they met it in at least one calendar month since their last renewal. The state lists exemptions that include pregnant and postpartum members and caregivers of children under 13. Renewals for expansion adults move to every six months from every twelve, and backdated coverage is reduced for all members. The Office for Family Independence began contacting affected members in August 2026. If you are near the $1,836 a month line as a single person, the practical effect is that income that drifts above it, or a missed six-month renewal, can put you on CoverME.gov mid-year. Losing MaineCare is a qualifying event, so report the change the month it happens.

Sources: Maine DHHS, MaineCare work requirements; Maine DHHS bulletin, August 21, 2026.

Open enrollment and special enrollment on CoverME.gov

CoverME.gov's open enrollment runs every year from November 1 through January 15. Enroll by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1; enroll by January 15 and coverage starts February 1. Outside the window you need a qualifying event, such as losing job coverage or MaineCare, a move, a marriage, or a birth, reported within 60 days. Three things changed that catch people. The year-round enrollment for households under 150% of poverty is gone. The Easy Enrollment checkbox on the Maine tax return ended December 31, 2025. And since March 2026 you cannot do a special enrollment online yourself; you call CoverME.gov at 1-866-636-0355. MaineCare takes applications year-round. The dates for every state I work in are on my 2027 dates page.

Sources: CoverME.gov, open enrollment; CoverME.gov, special enrollment periods; CoverME.gov, partner resources.

Over the line in Maine? The price is the same sick or healthy, so look at the group door

Maine's individual market is merged with small group and is not health-rated. In the Bureau's words, your health and the health of your family members are not factored into how much you pay. Short-term plans are legal on paper but none have been sold in Maine since 2020. Maine has no state mandate or penalty, but that does not make going bare a plan, and CoverME.gov's own report says households over 400% of poverty made up nearly 40% of the people who cancelled during open enrollment. For a household over $128,600, what is left is the sticker price, $811 a month on average without credits. The door I open first for a healthy owner in that spot is a pre-established ERISA group plan: group rates, no payroll or employees required, and a true national PPO network of the PHCS and MultiPlan type. The second door is the same CoverME.gov plans bought on or off the exchange, which is the right call for anyone with a health condition. Supplemental and fixed-benefit coverage is a layer on top of one of those for the deductible, never your only coverage. I walk through all of it on the Maine self-employed guide. Maine's median household income is $76,442, so a two-earner family does not need to be wealthy to land over the line. If you are within $10,000 of it, a Solo 401(k) or SEP contribution, run with your tax professional, is the first lever to pull.

Sources: Maine Bureau of Insurance, October 1, 2025; healthinsurance.org, Maine short-term rules; Census Bureau, ACS 2024 one-year estimates, household income by state.

Common questions about CoverME.gov income limits