Illinois Medicaid long-term care: who qualifies
Medicaid is the biggest payer of long-term care in the country — nursing homes, and increasingly care at home — and Medicare is not. Qualifying turns on two tests: a financial one, which is the tables below, and a functional one, which asks how much help you need with daily life. You have to pass both.
Read this before you read the numbers.
These figures are a starting point for a conversation, not a decision. Medicaid eligibility is decided by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services on the whole picture — income, assets, the look-back, your medical need, and rules that differ for a married couple in ways no table holds. Nothing here is legal advice.
The 2026 limits in Illinois
Income limits are monthly. Asset limits count only what Illinois treats as countable — a home you live in and one car usually sit outside that, within limits.
Nursing home and supportive living facility Medicaid
Level of care needed: A doctor and the state must both agree you need the level of care a nursing home provides — help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating or moving about, or skilled nursing care.
One person applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,330 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, both applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,803 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, one applying — the other stays at home
- Monthly income limit:
- Not published
- Countable asset limit:
- Not published
Department on Aging home and community based services waiver
Level of care needed: You must need the same nursing-home level of care, but you get the care at home or in the community instead of moving into a facility.
One person applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,330 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, both applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,803 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, one applying — the other stays at home
- Monthly income limit:
- Not published
- Countable asset limit:
- Not published
Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled Medical
Level of care needed: No nursing-home level of care is required. You qualify on age (65+), blindness or disability alone.
One person applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,330 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, both applying
- Monthly income limit:
- $1,803 a month
- Countable asset limit:
- $17,500
Married, one applying — the other stays at home
- Monthly income limit:
- Not published
- Countable asset limit:
- Not published
"Not published" means Illinois does not publish a separate figure for that combination — not that there is no limit. Ask the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services rather than assuming another row applies.
The look-back period
60 months
That is 5 years. When you apply, Illinois looks back over that window at money and property given away or sold for less than it was worth. Transfers found there can trigger a penalty period — a stretch of time during which Medicaid will not pay, calculated from the amount transferred. It is the single most common way a family gets a nasty surprise.
Particular to Illinois
- Illinois does not run a 300% of federal benefit rate category at all. Nursing home, supportive living and Department on Aging waiver cases are all measured against the same community standard used for regular aged, blind or disabled Medical — $1,330 a month for one person in 2026 — with income above that handled as a spend-down or patient liability rather than a bar to eligibility. That is why the same figure appears in all three rows.
- Illinois raised its Medical asset limit to $17,500 on 12 May 2023, and it applies whether one person or more is in the household — there is no longer a larger figure for a bigger household. This is far above the $2,000 most states use.
- Do not confuse Medical with Cash. The separate AABD Cash program still uses $2,000 for one person and $3,000 for two.
- Illinois sets its OWN community spouse resource allowance rather than adopting the federal ceiling. For 2026 it is $143,172, which is meaningfully lower than the $162,660 most states use. Because Illinois publishes a single figure rather than a minimum and maximum, no range is shown here.
- The community spouse maintenance needs allowance is $4,066.50 from 1 January 2026, the family maintenance needs allowance is $2,705.00, and the home equity limit is $752,000.
- The look-back period is 60 months from the request for the state to pay for long-term-care services.
Verified 2026-08-02 against Illinois Department of Human Services, WAG 25-03-02(2) Medical FPLs — 2026 Monthly Income Standards, Resources, and Program Standards (effective 2026-01-01)
Who to ask, and in what order
This page is not legal advice. It is a transcription of published limits, and limits are the easy part. Whether a particular house, annuity, trust or transfer counts — and what to do about it — depends on facts we cannot see.
the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services decides
Only the state agency can determine eligibility, and only their published materials are authoritative. If what you read here ever disagrees with what they say, they are right and we are wrong — please tell us.
An elder-law attorney is the right professional
For anything involving a house, a transfer already made, a trust, a second marriage, or a spouse staying at home, this is a job for a lawyer who does Medicaid planning in Illinois — not for a form-filling service. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys ↗ keeps a directory. Many will do a paid first meeting for a fixed fee; ask what it costs when you book.
Free help first, if money is tight
The free counseling program in Illinois will talk any of this through at no charge and sells nothing, and the Eldercare Locator (ACL): 1-800-677-1116 ↗ connects you to the area agency on aging for your county.
Estimate only — not financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice. Only the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services can determine your actual amounts. Limits change — sometimes in January, sometimes on a schedule of the state's own — and a figure that was right last year may not be right today. The date we last checked these against the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is printed in the stamp above.
Common questions
- What are the Medicaid long-term-care limits in Illinois?
- Illinois sets a monthly income limit and a countable asset limit, and both depend on which program you are applying to and whether you are single or married. The figures on this page are transcribed from the state agency's own published materials, with the date we checked them printed beside the table.
- Does the house count against the asset limit?
- Usually not while you or a spouse live in it, and often not up to an equity limit — but the rules are specific, they differ by state, and estate recovery after death is a separate question. This is exactly the kind of thing to take to an elder-law attorney rather than settle from a web page.
- Can I give money away to qualify?
- No. Illinois looks back at transfers made in the years before an application and can impose a penalty period of ineligibility for gifts made during it. Get advice before moving any money.