Medicaid & long-term care in Maine
Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term care in the U.S. Here are the current eligibility limits for nursing-home Medicaid in Maine, in plain English — who qualifies, what’s protected, and what to watch for.
Most nursing homes are certified for Medicaid — but certification is not acceptance. Homes cap how many Medicaid beds they run, and they generally prefer private-pay and Medicare admissions, so a Medicaid applicant can be told there is no bed even at a home that takes Medicaid. Qualifying is hard; so is getting in. Ask each home directly whether it has a Medicaid bed available now, and ask what happens when a resident’s private funds run out.
Who these limits are for. Nursing-home and long-term-care Medicaid runs through what states call the aged, blind, and disabled pathway. You do not have to be 65. Being 65 or older is one way in; being blind, or having a disability, is another, and a younger adult who meets the disability and level-of-care tests is judged against the same figures below. If you are under 65 and disabled, these are your numbers too — ask Maine Medicaid about the disability route rather than assuming the page isn’t about you.
Read these numbers as a starting point, not as the rule.
There is no free government table of all 51 jurisdictions’ long-term-care Medicaid limits, so the figures below come from a private compilation — the American Council on Aging, an organization that also earns referral income from Medicaid planning. It is not a government source, and we have not been able to verify most of it against the states’ own publications. Where we have checked, we have found real errors: figures that were two of a state’s rules added together and published as one, and federal defaults filled in where the state had actually elected something else. We have corrected what we could confirm and withdrawn what we could not, and the rows below say which is which.
Maine Department of Health & Human Services (MaineCare), Office for Family Independence is the authority here — not this page. The errors we found all leaned the same way, toward suggesting someone qualifies when their state’s own rule says they do not, and that is a mistake a family discovers at the denial, after the money is gone. Before you spend down, move money, or rule yourself out, confirm the figure that matters to you with the agency and write down who told you.
| Monthly income limit (single applicant) | None (medically needy) Maine has no income cut-off for nursing-home Medicaid. Instead you contribute your income toward the cost of care, keep a small personal-needs allowance (and, if you are married, an allowance for your at-home spouse), and Medicaid pays the balance. A high income does not by itself make you ineligible here. |
|---|---|
| Personal needs allowance (what the resident keeps) | Not recorded — ask your state (not this state’s figure — the federal floor is $30/month) This is the money the resident actually keeps. Once Medicaid is paying for a nursing home, almost all of the resident’s own monthly income — Social Security, a pension — goes to the home as their share of the cost. The personal needs allowance is the part that does not: it is theirs, for clothing, haircuts, toiletries, a phone, and anything else the daily rate does not cover. Federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1396a(q)) requires every state to allow one, and sets a floor of $30 a month for an individual and $60 for an institutionalized couple. That floor is written into the statute as a flat figure with no adjustment for inflation, and it has stood at $30 since Congress added the provision in 1987. The statute also says a state’s allowance may be greater, and states generally set theirs above the floor. Our source does not record this state’s figure, so we are not going to print one. The federal minimum is the floor, not the answer, and the difference between them is most of what Maine would actually leave in the resident’s hands. Ask Maine Medicaid: “What is the personal needs allowance for a nursing-home resident?” |
| Countable asset limit (single) | $2,000 Bank & investment accounts. Your home (up to the equity limit), one car, and personal belongings usually don’t count. We corrected this figure. Our source published $10,000; Maine’s own MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines (Maine DHHS) set the limit for the Aged, Blind, Disabled group — the route long-term-care MaineCare runs through — at $2,000 per individual and $3,000 per couple. The $10,000 was the $2,000 limit added to a separate exclusion and published as if the sum were the rule. Confirm with MaineCare before relying on it. |
| Asset limit (both spouses applying) | $3,000 We corrected this figure too, from the same Maine DHHS guidelines: $3,000 per couple. Our source published $15,000 and attributed it to spouses “sharing a room” — a condition that appears nowhere in Maine’s published guidelines or in the MaineCare Eligibility Manual appendices (10-144 Ch. 332). We could not find the rule it describes. |
| Community Spouse Resource Allowance | $162,660 What the at-home spouse keeps when only one spouse enters care — a different test from the asset limits above, which apply when both spouses are applying. The band is federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5(f)(2)(A)): the at-home spouse keeps the greater of the state’s minimum and half the couple’s countable assets, capped at $162,660. Maine’s minimum is the ceiling itself, so the at-home spouse keeps everything countable up to $162,660 — the half-of-assets calculation cannot reduce it. |
| Spouse’s monthly income allowance (MMMNA) | $2,705 – $4,066.50 What the at-home spouse’s own income can be topped up to out of the applicant’s income, so they are not left with nothing. Only the shortfall is transferred: the allowance is this figure minus the at-home spouse’s own income, so a spouse already above it receives nothing (§ 1396r-5(d)(2)). This is a floor with a ceiling, not one number (42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5(d)(3)): the state must set an allowance of at least 150% of the monthly poverty line for two — which changes every 1 July — plus an excess shelter allowance, and it may not exceed $4,066.50, which changes every 1 January. The lower figure is what our source records for Maine. Do not read the low end as your answer. It is the starting point: federal law requires Maine to add an excess shelter allowance on top of it for an at-home spouse whose rent or mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities run above 30% of that base — raising the allowance toward $4,066.50. Our source does not record Maine’s shelter standard, and it does not know your housing costs, so where in this band you land is not something this page can tell you. Put it to Maine Medicaid or an elder-law attorney as one question: “What is our MMMNA once the excess shelter allowance is included?” Two things can go above even the ceiling: a court order for spousal support sets the allowance at no less than the amount ordered (§ 1396r-5(d)(5)), and a fair hearing can substitute a higher amount where the at-home spouse needs it “due to exceptional circumstances resulting in significant financial duress” (§ 1396r-5(e)(2)(B)). Neither is automatic — you have to ask. |
| Home equity limit | Not published — check with the state Home equity above the limit can block eligibility while you own the home — but the home is normally exempt entirely while a spouse or a dependent, minor, or disabled child lives in it. Treat this one with particular suspicion. Every state in our source is assigned either the federal minimum or the federal maximum, and when we checked Oklahoma against its own chart, the assignment was wrong — our source had the maximum, Oklahoma publishes the minimum. This is a state election that has to be read from the state, and we have only been able to read a couple of them. Ask your agency for this number. We withdrew this figure rather than publish it. Our source assigned Maine the federal maximum ($1,130,000). We could not confirm that election in any Maine publication, and this is the same field, and the same maximum-for-minimum substitution, that our source got demonstrably wrong for Oklahoma. A doubtful number here is worse than none: ask MaineCare for the figure. |
| Look-back period | 60 months Gifts or transfers in this window can trigger a penalty period. The window can differ by program — several states apply it to nursing-home Medicaid but not (or not yet) to home and community-based care. If you are seeking care at home or in assisted living, ask the state which window applies to that program before assuming this one does. |
| Estate recovery | Yes — as federal law requires of every state After death, states recoup at least the cost of long-term care from the estate of those who got care at age 55+ — but not while a surviving spouse, or a child under 21 or a disabled child, is living. “At least” is doing real work there: long-term care is the federal minimum a state must recover for, and 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(1)(B) also lets a state elect to recover for any service its Medicaid plan paid after 55. Which one this state chose is not in our source either — ask it alongside the question below. The answer families actually want turns on a rule this row does not carry: whether Maine recovers only from the probate estate (so a life estate, a joint deed, or a transfer-on-death deed passes outside its reach) or uses an expanded estate definition that reaches jointly held property, life estates, and trusts. Same deed, opposite result. Our source does not record which one this state uses, so don’t read “Limited” as “probate-only” — it isn’t reliable for that. Put that one question to Maine Medicaid or an elder-law attorney; the estate-recovery guide explains why it decides everything else. |
| Covers assisted living? | Limited — a waiver exists but is restricted or has a waitlist |
Maine’s own rules
Rules recorded for Maine that the table above cannot show on its own:
- Medically-needy state, NO hard income cap (spend-down to ~$315/mo protected income)
- CORRECTED 2026-07-16 from Maine's own source: asset limit $2,000 per individual / $3,000 per couple for the Aged, Blind, Disabled group, per the MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines published by Maine DHHS (maine.gov/dhhs/documents/MaineCare-Eligibility-Guidelines.docx) - our compilation showed $10,000/$15,000, which is the $2,000 base summed with a separate exclusion and published as if it were the rule
- the phrase 'sharing a room' appears nowhere in Maine's published guidelines or in the MaineCare Eligibility Manual appendices (10-144 Ch. 332) and has been removed
- home-equity limit SUPPRESSED 2026-07-16 - our compilation assigned Maine the federal MAXIMUM $1,130,000 and we could not confirm that election against a Maine publication (this is the same field our compilation got demonstrably wrong for Oklahoma), so we show no figure rather than a doubtful one
- CSRA flat $162,660
Summarised from our source’s state page in its own terms. It is a summary, not the regulation.
How it works
To qualify, an applicant’s countable income and assets must fall under the limits above. If assets are over the limit, you “spend down” the excess on care and legitimate expenses — but you can’t simply give it away, because of the look-back. A spouse who stays in the community is protected by the resource allowance above (the CSRA), and can also keep enough of the couple’s income to reach the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) — your own state’s figure is in the table above — but read it as a floor, not a ceiling. Federal law sets a base of at least $2,705 a month (150% of the poverty line for two, revised every 1 July), requires the state to add an allowance on top of it where the at-home spouse’s housing costs are high, and caps the total at $4,066.50. These federal spousal protections apply to all legally married couples, including same-sex spouses. For assisted living, coverage depends on the state’s waiver (shown above), and waivers usually pay for care services but not room and board.
If you are doing this for someone else — as their agent under a power of attorney — check the document before you move any money. Most durable POAs do not include the authority to make gifts, transfer assets, or fund a trust unless it is expressly granted in the document itself. An agent who spends down by transferring assets without that authority can breach their duty and see the transfer undone, on top of any look-back penalty. See what an agent owes, and what express gifting authority is.
Plan ahead with an elder-law attorney — the rules are unforgiving and a mistimed transfer can cause a penalty period when you need care most.
Go deeper
Waivers & how to apply
Home & community-based services (so you can get care at home or in assisted living, not only a nursing home) come through Maine’s Medicaid waiver(s):
- Elderly and Adults with Disabilities Waiver (Home and Community Benefits) — in-home care / home modifications / respite / home-delivered meals / PERS
Maine lets you “spend down” excess income on care to qualify (no income cap / Miller trust needed).
Where to apply: Apply / learn more ↗ · 1-855-797-4357
Maine is a medically-needy/spend-down state whose primary aged/disabled waiver is in-home oriented; assisted-living coverage was not confirmed.
How to apply, step by step
- Gather your documents: photo ID/proof of citizenship, Social Security and Medicare cards, proof of all income (Social Security, pensions), and 5 years (60 months) of bank, retirement, life-insurance, and property records for both spouses.
- Request a functional level-of-care assessment: a state nurse or caseworker screens the applicant to confirm they need a nursing-home level of care, which is required to qualify for an HCBS waiver.
- Apply through your state's Medicaid portal or your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) / Area Agency on Aging, which is the single entry point for long-term-care Medicaid and waiver enrollment in most states.
- Complete the financial eligibility review: the state verifies income and countable assets against the LTC limits; in a '300% income cap' state you must set up and fund a Miller / Qualified Income Trust if income is over the limit.
- Expect a look-back review: the caseworker examines the past 5 years (60 months in most states; 30 in California) of asset transfers and gifts, and any assets given away below fair value can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility.
- Protect the community spouse: spousal-impoverishment rules let the at-home spouse keep a protected share of assets (CSRA) and a minimum monthly income (MMMNA), so review these before spending down.
- Get the eligibility decision, then act on it: if approved you may still be placed on a waiver waiting list where slots are capped; if denied, you have the right to appeal and request a fair hearing, usually within 30-90 days.
Waiver names, waitlists, and rules change and several states have folded these into managed-care programs — confirm current details with the state before relying on them.
If the person you’re looking for has an intellectual or developmental disability (rather than an age-related care need), the waivers above are probably the wrong door. Most states fund day programs, group homes, and supported living through a separate IDD/DD waiver run by a separate agency — New York’s OPWDD, for example, and its equivalent in each state. We don’t list those programs: this site’s data covers eldercare, and we’d rather point you at the right agency than pretend to map one we haven’t sourced. Ask your state developmental-disabilities agency — your Area Agency on Aging (1-800-677-1116) or 2-1-1 can name it — about that state’s DD waiver and its waiting list.
Source: American Council on Aging (medicaidplanningassistance.org), 2026 compilation — a private compilation, not a government source, published by an organization that also earns referral income from Medicaid planning. We use it because no free government table collects all 51 jurisdictions in one place, and we show it so you can weigh it. We have audited a sample of it against states’ own publications and found a material error rate, concentrated in two patterns: a state’s separate rules summed into a single figure, and federal defaults filled in where the state had made its own election. Rows we corrected or withdrew are marked in the table above, with the state’s own source named. Rows that are not marked are not thereby verified — they are simply ones we have not yet been able to check. The federal spousal-impoverishment figures it builds on are published by CMS (medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment). Figures are compiled estimates for 2026 and update on state cycles — Maine Department of Health & Human Services (MaineCare), Office for Family Independence is the authority, and the only figure worth relying on is the one they give you. This is general information, not legal advice.
Figures compiled for 2026 and last reviewed against our source in July 2026. That is a review of the compilation, not a verification against each state’s own rules — we have checked a sample that way and found errors. Medicaid limits also change on state cycles. Verify the current amount with your state Medicaid agency before relying on it.
Free help figuring this out: call 2-1-1 (just dial 211) for local health-and-human-services referrals — or, in many areas, text your ZIP code to 898-211, or search and chat at 211.org (texting isn’t supported everywhere — each local 211 decides, and you’ll get an automatic reply if yours doesn’t). Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free one-on-one Medicare/Medicaid counseling (shiphelp.org). Your local Area Agency on Aging takes calls on 1-800-677-1116 and also has a search and a live chat on the web at eldercare.acl.gov.