HHSC determines the Medicaid eligibility effective date for an applicant as follows:(1) Medicaid coverage begins on the earliest day of the application month on which the applicant meets all eligibility criteria.(2) Retroactive coverage may begin as early as three months before the application month, except that a newborn's coverage begins no earlier than the child's date of birth.(3) A recipient is continuously eligible for Medicaid for six months or through the month of the recipient's 19th birthday, whichever is earlier. A recipient who is a newborn has continuous eligibility through the month of his or her first birthday. If the applicant is eligible in the application or process month, the child is eligible for continuous coverage beginning the first month the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.