Medicaid Eligibility Income Chart by State – Updated Mar. 2021

The table below shows Medicaid’s monthly income limits by state for seniors. However, income is not the only eligibility factor for Medicaid long term care, there are asset limits and level of care requirements. Click on the state name in the table to see that state’s complete Medicaid eligibility criteria.

Readers should be aware the maximum income limits change dependent on the marital status of the applicant, whether a spouse is also applying for Medicaid and the type of Medicaid for which they are applying. Nursing home Medicaid may have a different income limit than Medicaid services provided in the home and both of those may differ from the Aged, Blind and Disabled income limits.

Exceeding the income limits does not mean an individual cannot qualify for Medicaid. Most states have multiple pathways to Medicaid eligibility. Furthermore, many states allow the use of Miller Trusts or Qualified Income Trusts to help person who cannot afford their care costs to become Medicaid eligible. There are also Medicaid planning professionals that employ other complicated techniques to help person become eligible. Finally, candidates can take advantage of spousal protection law that allow income (or assets) to be allocated to a non-applicant spouse.

What Happens to One’s Income When They Enter a Nursing Home
While persons residing in nursing homes paid for by Medicaid are permitted to have monthly incomes as high as $2,382 in 2021 (in most states), those individuals are not permitted to keep that income. Instead, all of their income except for a personal needs allowance (which ranges for $30 – $150 / month), must go towards paying for their cost of care. In most cases, their income is allocated directly to the nursing home in which they are reside. Often times, the nursing home coordinates directly with Social Security so the income they would have otherwise received goes straight to the nursing home.

What Happens to One’s Income When They Qualify for a Medicaid HCBS Waiver
When persons receive Medicaid services at home or “in the community” meaning not in a nursing home through a Medicaid waiver, they still have expenses that must be paid. Rent, mortgages, food and utilities are all expenses that go away when one is in a nursing home but persist when one receives Medicaid at home. Therefore, Medicaid beneficiaries that receive assistance through a Medicaid HCBS waiver are permitted to keep their monthly income (up to a certain amount) to pay those expenses.