Ohio Medicaid Eligibility Calculator
See Where You Stand Under Ohio's 2026 Medicaid Rules
Enter the applicant's income, assets, home and any gifts from the last five years. In about two minutes you get a plain language snapshot for nursing home Medicaid, the PASSPORT and Assisted Living waivers, and regular ABD Medicaid, using the figures Ohio applies this year.
Check Your Ohio Medicaid Eligibility
Answer a few questions about the person who needs care. We test the numbers against all three Ohio pathways at once and show you exactly which limits are met, which need planning and what the next step is. Nothing is sent to us unless you choose to share your results.
Have your most recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements nearby. Rough numbers are fine; the snapshot is a starting point for a conversation, not a decision.
How the Calculator Works
The calculator applies the same 2026 tests an Ohio caseworker uses when a nursing home, waiver or ABD Medicaid application lands on their desk. It is a starting point, not a decision, and it is built for families who want to understand the rules before they act.
Choose the program and tell us whether the applicant is single or married. Ohio counts a couple’s assets together but only the applicant’s income when one spouse applies.
Enter gross monthly income and countable assets. Retirement accounts, CDs and second properties count; the home, one vehicle and a prepaid funeral usually do not.
Add home equity and any gifts from the last five years. Ohio applies a $752,000 equity limit and a 60 month look back with a $7,787 monthly penalty divisor.
Get an instant snapshot for all three pathways, then send it to our team for a free review if you would like an attorney to look at the numbers.
Ohio Medicaid Limits for 2026
These are the figures Ohio applies to nursing home and waiver Medicaid this year. Most of them change every January, and the spousal income allowance updates each July.
$2,982 Monthly Income
The 2026 special income level for nursing home and waiver Medicaid. Income above it can still qualify through a Qualified Income Trust.
$2,000 Countable Assets
The limit for a single applicant. A married couple with both spouses applying may keep $3,000 combined.
$162,660 Spousal Protection
The most a spouse at home can keep in 2026, with a floor of $32,532, plus a monthly income allowance of at least $2,705.
60 Month Look Back
Gifts in the five years before applying are divided by Ohio's $7,787 penalty divisor to set a period of ineligibility.
Over a Limit? You Are Not Out of Options
Most families who use this calculator land above at least one limit. That is normal, and it is where planning starts. Ohio law allows several routes that preserve eligibility without handing everything to the nursing home.
Income above $2,982 goes into a Qualified Income Trust, sometimes called a Miller Trust, so the applicant qualifies while the excess pays toward care. Countable assets can be converted into exempt ones through home repairs, a prepaid funeral, paying down debt or a Medicaid compliant annuity, and a spouse at home keeps up to $162,660 plus a monthly income allowance.
Gifts made in the last five years can often be cured or timed so the penalty is short, and even families already paying privately can usually protect a meaningful share of what is left. The earlier we see the numbers, the more options remain.
What Ohio Counts and What It Leaves Alone
Enter the right numbers and the snapshot gets far more useful. Here is how Ohio sorts the assets families ask about most.
Counted toward the limit
Checking, savings, CDs and money market accounts
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds and brokerage accounts
IRAs and 401(k)s that are not yet in payout status
Cash value of life insurance when the face value is over $1,500
Real estate other than the home, including rental and vacation property
Second vehicles, boats and recreational vehicles
Usually exempt
The home, up to $752,000 in equity, or any value while a spouse lives there
One vehicle used for transportation
Personal belongings and household goods
An irrevocable prepaid funeral plan and burial plots
Term life insurance and small policies with a total face value of $1,500 or less
Retirement accounts in payout status, with required distributions being taken
Ohio Medicaid Questions Families Ask Us
Short answers to the questions that come up most after running the numbers. Every situation is different, so treat these as orientation rather than advice.
Does Ohio count my spouse's income?
When only one spouse applies, no. Ohio looks at the applicant's income alone and may even shift part of it to the spouse at home through the monthly maintenance needs allowance, which is at least $2,705 in 2026 and up to $4,066.50 when housing costs are high. When both spouses apply, each is tested against the $2,982 limit.
What is a Qualified Income Trust?
Ohio is an income cap state, so an applicant with more than $2,982 a month cannot qualify for nursing home or waiver Medicaid without a Qualified Income Trust, often called a Miller Trust. Each month the excess income is deposited into the trust and paid toward care. The trust has to be set up and funded correctly for the month to count.
Will Medicaid take our house?
Not while you live there or intend to return, and never while a spouse lives in it. The risk comes later through estate recovery, which lets Ohio recover what it paid from the estate after death. With advance planning, often through a properly drafted trust, families can protect the home from recovery.
We already gave money to our children. Is it too late?
No. Gifts within 60 months create a penalty period rather than a permanent bar, and the penalty only runs once you are otherwise eligible. Returned gifts shorten it, some transfers are exempt, and crisis planning strategies can preserve a meaningful share of assets even after care has started.
How is PASSPORT different from nursing home Medicaid?
PASSPORT pays for in-home care through your Area Agency on Aging, while the Assisted Living Waiver covers care costs in a participating facility. Both use the same income and asset tests as nursing home Medicaid plus a nursing facility level of care assessment, but waiver participants keep more of their income for living costs. Ohioans with both Medicare and Medicaid enroll through MyCare Ohio instead.
Do I need an attorney to apply?
You can apply on your own through Ohio Benefits or your county Job and Family Services office. Most denials we see come from paperwork, timing and transfer mistakes rather than true ineligibility. A review before filing costs far less than a single month of private pay lost to a penalty.
Planning Help for Every Result
Whatever the snapshot shows, there is a next step. These are the services Ohio families use most after running their numbers, from early planning years ahead of care to crisis work when a loved one is already in a facility.
Testimonials
Client Success Stories
Learn How Ohio Medicaid Really Works
Our free workshops walk Ohio families through the income, asset and look back rules in plain language, so you can plan with confidence long before a crisis. Prefer a one on one conversation? Our team is a call away.
The Ohio Medicaid Eligibility Calculator provides general information based on figures published for 2026 by the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Results are estimates and do not account for every rule, exemption or exception. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and using the calculator or sending us your results does not create an attorney client relationship. Figures change every year; confirm the current limits with an attorney before making decisions.