How we source every number,
and why it's dated.

Primary sources

Every state page on ElderCareAtlas cites at least one of: the state's published Medicaid manual, the state Medicaid agency's current income and asset eligibility chart, the federal CMS State Operations Manual, or the Social Security Act provisions at 42 U.S.C. §1396p.

For federal minimums (home equity limit, CSRA floor and ceiling, MMMNA floor and ceiling, community spouse monthly housing allowance), we use the CMS-published annual figures released each January.

Dollar figures

Every dollar figure on the site is dated. When you see "2026 federal CSRA ceiling: $157,920," that number comes from the current year's CMS chart. When the chart updates in January, the figure updates here.

Penalty divisors are state-specific and often updated mid-year without fanfare. We check each state quarterly. If a state page's divisor is more than six months old, a dated banner appears above the number.

What we don't do

We don't publish estimates dressed as facts. We don't aggregate national medians and call them state figures. We don't scrape old articles for numbers.

We don't take money from placement agencies, nursing homes, or attorney referral networks. When we recommend a Certified Medicaid Planner or elder-law attorney, it's a category recommendation — not a pay-for-placement.

Not legal advice

ElderCareAtlas is reference material. It's accurate to the best of our research, but Medicaid planning is jurisdiction-specific, fact-specific, and frequently depends on reading a local court's case law. Every planning decision that involves a home transfer, a trust, a community spouse, a disabled child, or an applicant already in a facility should involve a licensed elder-law attorney in your state.

Corrections

If you spot a number that doesn't match your state's current Medicaid manual, email us at [email protected] with the source. We log every correction in the page's footer and update within 48 hours.