Editorial guides
Practical articles, checklists and explanations built around Italian nursing homes, urgent placement, waiting lists and home-care decisions.
Featured guide
In most cases it is not a stranger on the phone — it is someone close. The signs, the mistake to avoid when you raise it, and the steps that actually stop the money leaving.
Arizona runs nursing-home Medicaid through ALTCS, not general Medicaid — applying to the wrong programme costs weeks. It is also an income-cap state: above $2,982 a month a Miller Trust is the only route, and it cannot be backdated. The 2026 figures and the $149.10 personal needs allowance.
Washington guarantees the at-home spouse a minimum of $72,529 — more than double the $32,532 floor most states use. There is no Miller Trust to set up here either. The 2026 limits, the spousal protection that sets the state apart, and the $108.74 personal needs allowance.
Tennessee runs nursing-home coverage through TennCare CHOICES, and it is an income-cap state: above $2,982 a month only a Miller Trust works, and it cannot be backdated. The 2026 limits, the spousal protections and the programme to ask for by name.
Michigan's asset limit is $9,950, not the $2,000 that applies in most states — a difference that rules many families in rather than out. No Miller Trust is needed here either: income above the limit goes through a spend-down. The 2026 figures and the spousal protections.
New Jersey offers two routes above the $2,982 income limit — a Miller Trust or the medically needy pathway at $367 a month — and picking the wrong one costs weeks. The 2026 limits, the spousal protections and how to choose before you pay for a trust you may not need.
North Carolina has no fixed $2,982 income cap: eligibility simply requires income below what Medicaid pays the home, roughly $7,898–$11,218 a month. Families who would be over the limit in Texas or Florida often qualify here. The 2026 figures, the six-month spend-down and the spousal protections.
Virginia is not an income-cap state — there is no Miller Trust to pay for here, because income above the limit goes through a spend-down. The 2026 limits, the Nursing Home Level of Care gate, and the $40 personal needs allowance, the lowest we have found.
Ohio is an income-cap state: a dollar over $2,982 a month and you are not eligible unless a Qualified Income Trust is set up first — and it cannot be done retroactively. Here are the 2026 limits, the spousal protections and the trust step most guides omit.
Illinois sets its own numbers: the asset limit is $17,500, not $2,000, and the income limit is $1,330 with a medically needy spend-down above it. Here are the 2026 figures for a nursing-home stay, the spousal allowance and who actually decides the application.
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In most cases it is not a stranger on the phone — it is someone close. The signs, the mistake to avoid when you raise it, and the steps that actually stop the money leaving.
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