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Eligibility

Where you land,
in 5 questions.

A fast read on whether Medicaid LTC is likely to approve you today, whether you need a planner first, or whether you're still outside the crisis window.

A single clean horizon between warm earth and warm sky

Who qualifies for Medicaid long-term care?

An applicant with countable assets ≤ $2,000 (individual cap in most states), monthly income ≤ state cap (often $2,829 in 2026), a documented functional need for nursing-home-level care, and no uncompensated transfers in the 60-month lookback window that remain unpenalized.

Interactive check

Seven questions, no email required. The result is indicative — confirm with a planner before any application or transfer decision.

2.Marital status

Bank, brokerage, most retirement accounts, secondary homes. Excludes primary home, one car, prepaid burial.

Social Security + pension + RMDs + any other monthly inflow.

5.Functional need

The functional-need test for LTC Medicaid is "needs assistance with 2+ activities of daily living, OR has cognitive impairment requiring supervision."

6.Transfers ≥ $500 to non-spouse in the last 60 months

Includes cash gifts, adding a child to a deed or account, below-market sales, and most trust transfers.

7.Facility status

Indicative only. Asset and income caps vary slightly by state — the applicant cap is $2,000 federally but a few states use higher figures, and income-cap states (Florida, Texas, others) require a Miller Trust path. State-specific data lives on each state page. Always confirm with a Certified Medicaid Planner or elder-law attorney before relying on this for any application or transfer decision.

How to read your answers

Under asset + income caps, functional need met, no gifts: likely eligible now; a CMP can handle the application.

Over caps: need spend-down or community-spouse re-allocation; a CMP is usually fine unless a home transfer is planned.

Gifts in the last 60 months: need an attorney. Penalty analysis, potential cure transfers, lookback math.

Married with a working community spouse: need an attorney for CSRA + MMMNA optimization.

Applicant already in a facility: need an attorney and need one this week. See the crisis playbook.

The federal standard is assistance with 2+ activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, eating) OR cognitive impairment requiring supervision. States use this as a floor; some require 3 ADLs for specific home-and-community-based waiver programs.
In most states, yes — they're countable assets against the $2,000 applicant cap. In a handful of states, a retirement account in required-minimum-distribution payout status is exempt. Your state's page shows the current posture.
In income-cap states, use a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) to shield income above the cap. In medically-needy states, apply income to medical bills until you fall below the cap. Both paths work, but the planning differs — this is a planner-level question.
Yes for the Medicaid side, but home-care services are delivered through state HCBS waivers with their own functional-level and waiting-list rules. Pass the basic check first, then ask about your state's specific waiver.
No. Failing a question usually means you need planning, not that you're disqualified. Over assets → spend-down. Gifts in last 60 months → penalty analysis and possible cure transfers. Already in a facility → the crisis playbook. Planners move families from "fails" to "approved" every day.
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