Medicaid eligibility for long-term care generally requires applicants to have countable assets of $ 2 , 000 $ 2 , 0 0 0 or less ( $ 3 , 000 $ 3 , 0 0 0 for couples). Countable assets include cash, bank accounts (checking/savings), stocks, bonds, CDs, non-primary vehicles, and vacation homes. Exempt assets often include a primary residence, one vehicle, and some personal property.
Countable Assets
Any cash, savings, investments and property that exceed these limits are considered “countable” assets and will count towards an applicant's $2,000 resource limit. Keep in mind that states do have some wiggle room when it comes to setting asset limits.
Starting January 1, 2024, the asset test to qualify for a Medicare Savings Program was eliminated. This means individuals can have any amount of assets and still qualify for a Medicare Savings Program.
The best way to save your house from Medicaid recovery is to put it into an irrevocable trust. A trust protects the home because the individual no longer owns it.
Non-Countable Assets
Non-Countable (exempt) assets are not counted towards Medicaid's asset limit. Exempt assets include one's primary home, given certain conditions are met. The home is automatically exempt if the applicant's spouse, child under 21 years old, or blind or disabled child (of any age) lives in it.
Medicaid look-back exemptions allow penalty-free asset transfers for specific situations, primarily benefiting spouses, disabled children, and certain caregivers, including transferring a home to a child or sibling who provided long-term care or lived in the home for a year with equity interest. Exemptions also exist for transfers to a spouse, to a trust for a blind or disabled child, for home modifications, debt payment, funeral expenses (like irrevocable funeral trusts), and sometimes for Life Care Agreements, helping families plan without triggering penalties.
Medicaid agencies can and will look at your balance from any bank account you've had in the last five years. They may also conduct property checks using public records like deeds.
Upon one's death, the state will file a claim against their estate, including one's home, to collect funds for repayment of nursing home care expenses. Not all states use liens as a means of reimbursement for Medicaid funded long-term care. While Estate Recovery is required by all states, liens are not.
The best way to save your house from Medicaid recovery is to put it into an irrevocable trust. A trust protects the home because the individual no longer owns it.
Medicaid look-back exemptions allow penalty-free asset transfers for specific situations, primarily benefiting spouses, disabled children, and certain caregivers, including transferring a home to a child or sibling who provided long-term care or lived in the home for a year with equity interest. Exemptions also exist for transfers to a spouse, to a trust for a blind or disabled child, for home modifications, debt payment, funeral expenses (like irrevocable funeral trusts), and sometimes for Life Care Agreements, helping families plan without triggering penalties.
Non-exempt assets, which do count towards the Medicaid asset limit, include: Cash. Checking and savings accounts.
Non-Countable Assets
Non-Countable (exempt) assets are not counted towards Medicaid's asset limit. Exempt assets include one's primary home, given certain conditions are met. The home is automatically exempt if the applicant's spouse, child under 21 years old, or blind or disabled child (of any age) lives in it.
Understanding why your Medicaid application was denied is crucial to rectifying the situation. Primary reasons include incomplete applications, failure to respond swiftly to Medicaid correspondence, being over income limits, and more.
In states that consider a Medicaid applicant's retirement savings account as an asset, it will count against Medicaid's asset limit for eligibility. Some states will exempt one's retirement account if it is in payout status, and therefore, generating income.
The databases through which income may be verified are Disability Insurance Benefits, California State Employment Development Department wages, state welfare information files, California State Franchise Tax Board interest and dividend files, Social Security Administration, and Medicare benefit files.
Definition of Medicaid's Asset Limit
In most states in 2026, the individual asset limit for Medicaid long-term care in a nursing home or at home is $2,000. This means applicants must have $2,000 or less in countable assets.
State Medicaid agencies operate electronic asset verification systems (AVSs) that collect information directly from financial institutions to determine whether certain seniors and people with disabilities who are applying for or receiving Medicaid have assets below eligibility caps.
The person you care for can transfer assets into an irrevocable trust to protect them from Medicaid spend-down or penalties, as long as they set up the trust more than five years prior to applying for Medicaid. Any assets in the trust must stay in the trust until after your loved one passes away.
Medicaid also exempts your vehicle when determining financial eligibility. An applicant is allowed to own one car that's not included in your resource limit if it's used for transportation or by another person living in the house, such as a spouse.
In most states, the Look-Back Period is five years long. This means the state officials who are reviewing your Medicaid application will “look back” into your financial history for the five years before you applied to make sure you haven't given away any money or assets, or sold them at less than fair market value.