VT Medicaid: Out-of-state college student ineligible to enroll if claimed on parent’s taxes (?)

I live in Maine, and my 18 y.o. is a first-year college student in Vermont. Her school does not offer an insurance plan for domestic students.

After six months of research into the pros and cons of switching from ME to VT Medicaid, my daughter began the VT Medicaid application process earlier this week (after un-enrolling in ME).

Yesterday we were told (by Eligibility via the Legal Dept.) that my daughter is ineligible to apply for VT Medicaid if I claim her on my ME taxes. Does that seem correct? For some reason, it seemed contradictory to me (based in part on previous VT customer service conversations, among other things).

Taxes are definitely not my thing. (And my concern about taxes is not a financial one — it’s more like a plot twist that I need to act on immediately). I know I’ll need to find support if it turns out that our decision boils down to taxes rather than insurance. But I would like just a little further proof that this “new” eligibility guideline is legit.

Until then, does anyone have insight into / experience with / an opinion about the VT Medicaid eligibility issue mentioned above?? Any help is appreciated. Thanks