Long Term Care MaineCare, Maine's Medicaid program for long-term care, has a 2026 asset limit of $2,000 for one person, and many families stop reading there. The 2026 MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) also exclude up to $8,000 of savings for an individual applying for Long Term Care MaineCare, so the $2,000 figure on its own does not tell you whether your parent is over the limit. If you are working out how to pay for senior care in Maine, the realistic sources are your parent's own income and savings, Medicare for a short skilled stay, Long Term Care MaineCare once savings run low, and veterans' benefits or an old insurance policy where they exist. Knowing which of these your parent has, and what each one will not pay, is what lets you walk into a care meeting with a plan instead of a guess.

In This Guide

What Senior Care Costs in Maine

Before you choose a way to pay, get a sense of the scale of the bill. Maine DHHS's 2026 MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines put the average monthly private rate for a Maine nursing facility at $13,339, the figure MaineCare uses as its 2026 transfer-penalty divisor, so treat it as a yardstick rather than a price quote for any one home., For current prices by setting, including home care, assisted living and adult day care, see our guide to the cost of senior care in Maine. If a facility is already on the table, our guides to Maine nursing homes and assisted living in Maine cover choosing one.

Paying for Senior Care in Maine From Your Own Money

Start with your parent's own money: Social Security, a pension, savings, and sometimes the house. Two Maine bills can shrink before you draw down savings. How Maine's income tax treats a pension, an IRA or Social Security is covered in our guide to how Maine taxes retirement income. The other bill is the property tax on your parent's Maine home.

Three Maine Property Tax Programs

Maine runs three property tax programs for older homeowners, and a parent may qualify for more than one.

Maine program What it is worth Who qualifies Where and when to file
Property Tax Fairness Credit Refundable Maine income-tax credit of up to $2,000 for the 2025 tax year at 65 or older (up to $1,000 under 65) At 65 or older, 2025 total income under $102,500, with Maine property tax above 4% of income or rent above 26.67% of income Schedule PTFC/STFC with Form 1040ME
Maine Homestead Exemption Up to $25,000 off the assessed value of the primary home, adjusted by the town's certified ratio A permanent Maine resident who has owned a Maine home for the twelve months before applying The municipality, on or before April 1
Maine State Property Tax Deferral Program The state pays the annual property tax bill, repaid with interest later 65 or older or unable to work due to a disability; prior-year income under $80,000 and liquid assets under $100,000; home already has the Homestead Exemption The town assessor, between January 1 and April 1

A renter can claim the Maine Property Tax Fairness Credit too, because the credit covers a home owned or rented as the principal residence. Once approved, the Maine Homestead Exemption stays in place while ownership and residency are unchanged, with no yearly reapplication.

The deferral matters most when cash is tight. The amount Maine's State Property Tax Deferral Program pays is repaid with interest when the owner withdraws or is disqualified, in practice when the home is sold or transferred. One condition catches families planning a reverse mortgage: federal rules bar a Maine home carrying a HUD-insured reverse mortgage from the deferral program, and so does a home deeded to an irrevocable trust or one where the applicant holds only a life estate. Maine's older Property Tax Stabilization program for owners 65 and older no longer helps anyone, because it applied only to the property tax year beginning April 1, 2023. Filing detail for all three programs: Maine senior property tax relief.

If Your Parent Is a Veteran Homeowner

Maine's veterans exemption under 36 M.R.S. §653 takes up to $6,000 of just value off the Maine property of a veteran who served during a federally recognized war period, or was awarded an expeditionary medal, once the veteran reaches 62 or while the veteran receives a federal pension or compensation for total disability. Under the same Maine veterans exemption, a veteran who meets that war-period or expeditionary-medal test and received a federal specially adapted housing grant qualifies instead for up to $50,000 of just value on that unit. The Maine assessor multiplies the exemption by the municipality's certified ratio, so at an 85% ratio a $6,000 exemption becomes $5,100. A Maine veteran applies in writing to the local assessors, with proof such as a DD Form 214, on or before April 1 of the first year the exemption is requested. More: Maine's disabled veteran property tax exemption.

Borrowing Against the House

Every way of borrowing against the house is secured by the home and shrinks the equity the owner or the heirs would keep, and a home equity loan or line of credit usually comes with monthly payments. The federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is open to homeowners 62 and older through an FHA-approved lender, needs no monthly mortgage payments, and adds interest and fees to the loan balance each month, so the balance grows as the equity falls. The HECM rule that matters for care: if the borrower is away for more than 12 consecutive months in a healthcare facility such as a nursing home or assisted living facility and no co-borrower lives in the home, anyone else living there must move out unless they can repay the loan or qualify as an Eligible Non-Borrowing Spouse. That 12-month HECM rule makes a reverse mortgage a better fit for paying for care at home than for one person's permanent move into a facility. In Maine, weigh a HECM against the property tax deferral above, because a home with a HUD-insured reverse mortgage cannot use that deferral. More: home equity options for senior care.

Not sure which of these your family qualifies for? Chat with Brevy's care navigator at brevy.com.

Where Medicare Stops Paying

Medicare, in Maine as in every state, does not cover custodial care, the non-medical help with bathing, dressing and using the bathroom, when that is the only care a person needs, which is why Medicare does not pay for a long-term stay in a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

Medicare Part A pays for skilled nursing facility care on a short-term, post-acute basis, and generally only after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three consecutive days. Time under observation or in the emergency room before admission does not count toward Medicare's three days, even overnight. A patient whose doctor participates in an Accountable Care Organization approved for a Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule Waiver may not need the three-day stay.

In 2026 a Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility stay costs $0 a day for days 1 through 20 after the $1,736 deductible, which is not owed again if it was already paid for hospital care in the same benefit period; $217 a day for days 21 through 100; and after day 100, Medicare pays nothing. If your parent will still need care on day 101, start the MaineCare application while the Medicare days are still running. See also Medicare plans and coverage in Maine.

Paying for Senior Care in Maine With MaineCare

When private money runs low, Long Term Care MaineCare, Maine's Medicaid program, is the one to apply to. Maine DHHS's 2026 guidelines say Long Term Care MaineCare will help with the cost of services in the person's own home or the home of another person, an approved residential care facility, or an approved nursing facility. To qualify for Long Term Care MaineCare, a person must be a Maine resident, be 65 or older, blind, or disabled, meet the income and asset rules, and meet medical level of care requirements.

Income. Long Term Care MaineCare's 2026 income limit is $2,982 for the nursing facility and waiver coverage groups, while Maine's guidelines list the residential care facility group's income limit as "Varies". A Maine applicant over the limit is not simply turned away. MaineCare's Medically Needy Deductible is open to some people who meet every other condition but have monthly income above the limit: the person spends monthly income down to the MaineCare income standard, and once the deductible is met, coverage runs for the rest of a limited period, usually 6 months or less. If someone has told you your father's pension puts him out of reach, ask Maine DHHS about the deductible before you accept that.

Assets. Long Term Care MaineCare's 2026 asset limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Long Term Care MaineCare's 2026 rules also exclude up to $8,000 of savings for an individual, or $12,000 for a couple, and any amount over the excluded amount counts toward the asset limit. Maine prints those as two separate figures, not one combined limit, so ask Maine DHHS to confirm in writing what counts in your parent's case before anyone spends down or moves money. Full detail: Maine Medicaid eligibility and income limits and Maine Medicaid long-term care.

Home equity. Under federal Medicaid law, an applicant whose home equity is above the 2026 minimum of $752,000 is not eligible for long-term care assistance, and a state may substitute a higher figure up to $1,130,000. The federal home equity limit does not apply at all while a spouse, a child under 21, or a child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled lawfully lives in the home.

What a resident pays and keeps. A person found eligible for Long Term Care MaineCare pays a cost of care to the facility, figured from total income less allowable deductions such as a personal needs allowance, and in a Maine nursing facility that personal needs allowance is $40 in 2026. More: the Maine personal needs allowance.

Our guide on how to apply for Maine Medicaid walks through the forms. If a decision goes against you, read Maine Medicaid appeals and fair hearings the day the notice arrives.

Money Given Away in the Last Five Years

Maine DHHS completes a 60-month financial lookback for Long Term Care MaineCare applicants, to see whether the applicant or a spouse transferred assets to another person for less than fair market value, and such a transfer brings a penalty or a period of ineligibility. Federal law sets the length of a penalty by dividing the total uncompensated value by the state's average monthly private-pay cost of nursing facility care, and Maine's 2026 penalty divisor is $13,339., The penalty blocks nursing facility and waiver services for the penalty months, not all Medicaid coverage.

Not every transfer is penalized. Under federal Medicaid law, a home can pass without penalty to a spouse; to a child under 21 or a child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled; or to a son or daughter who lived there at least two years before the institutionalization and provided care that let the parent stay home. Because your parent's care and your family's savings both ride on it, an hour with an elder law attorney before anyone moves money is worth the fee.

What Happens to the House

Federal law limits when Medicaid estate recovery can happen: only after the death of a surviving spouse, and only when there is no surviving child who is under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled. Every state Medicaid agency must also have procedures to waive recovery where it would work an undue hardship. Which services MaineCare recovers for, and how to ask for a hardship waiver, are covered in our guide to Maine Medicaid estate recovery.

Staying Home or Moving to Assisted Living

If your parent would rather stay put, look at MaineCare's waiver before anyone signs a facility contract. Maine DHHS's 2026 guidelines describe waiver services as home and community-based long term care for people who need the kind of medical care usually available in a nursing facility but can be cared for at home or in the community, with the same $2,982 income limit as nursing facility care. Where your parent lives also changes what MaineCare lets them keep. MaineCare's 2026 personal needs allowance is $2,609 for a person receiving MaineCare home and community-based waiver services, against $40 in a nursing facility and $50 or $70 in a residential care facility. The waiver's services and how to enroll are in our guide to Maine Medicaid HCBS waivers.

Before touring assisted living, read how MaineCare treats each setting, including residential care facilities, in our guide on how to pay for assisted living in Maine. If a family member is doing the caregiving, see how to get paid as a family caregiver in Maine and caregiver programs in Maine.

If One Spouse Stays Home

When one spouse needs nursing home care, the other is not expected to hand over everything. Long Term Care MaineCare's 2026 asset limit for a community spouse is $162,660, which is also the federal maximum community spouse resource standard for 2026. How the protected amount is worked out is in our guide to Maine Medicaid spousal impoverishment rules.

If Your Parent Served in the Military

If your husband, wife or parent served, VA benefits may belong in the plan too; the rules and current rates are in our guide to VA Aid and Attendance in Maine, and the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services can help with a claim.

Is your parent a veteran, or a veteran's surviving spouse? Chat with Brevy's care navigator at brevy.com to see which benefits might apply.

Long-Term Care Insurance

If your parent bought a long-term care insurance policy, find it and read the benefit triggers, the daily maximum and the waiting period. Per-diem benefits from a tax-qualified long-term care insurance policy are excluded from federal income only up to the greater of an indexed amount, $430 a day for 2026, or the costs actually incurred for care, so that cap binds only when a policy pays more per day than the care costs. A long-term care insurance partnership policy can shelter assets from Medicaid, but a partnership is a state option rather than a national entitlement, existing only where the state has an approved Medicaid state plan amendment providing for the disregard, so ask the insurer and Maine DHHS in writing whether your parent's policy qualifies. More: long-term care insurance.

When paying for elder care in Maine, list each source your parent has and what it covers, then bring that list to the next care meeting. If your parent is on Medicare with a modest income, check Maine Medicare Savings Programs as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is MaineCare's 2026 income limit $2,982?

MaineCare's $2,982 limit for nursing facility and waiver care matches the 2026 "Income Cap Limit (300%)" in the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) table, three times the 2026 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate of $994 for one person. CMS describes 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate as the maximum income standard for this nursing home eligibility group, and Maine's limit sits at that maximum.

Does Medicare Advantage change the three-day hospital rule in Maine?

It can. A Medicare Advantage plan may waive Medicare's three-day inpatient hospital stay before skilled nursing facility care, so a Maine enrollee should ask the plan directly before assuming a nursing facility stay will not be covered.

Can my mother claim the Maine veterans exemption as a surviving spouse?

Often, yes. Under 36 M.R.S. §653, the unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who would be entitled to the exemption if living, or who receives a federal pension or compensation as a veteran's surviving spouse, qualifies for up to $6,000 of just value on her Maine home.

Can we still use Maine's tax deferral if my brother co-owns Dad's house?

Yes, if the Maine rules are met. When a Maine State Property Tax Deferral application includes multiple owners, only one owner has to be 65 or older or unable to work due to a disability; the combined income of all owners must be under $80,000, and the combined liquid-asset limit rises to $150,000.

What if we miss Maine's April 1 homestead deadline?

The Homestead Exemption is not lost. A Maine Homestead Exemption form filed after April 1 applies to the next year's tax assessment, and it may be received in addition to a veteran or blind exemption.

Learn More

Care TypesCost of Senior Care in MaineWhat senior care costs in Maine: assisted living runs about $8,205 a month and a nursing home tops $167,000 a year. See every setting and how to pay. MedicaidMaine Medicaid Long-Term CareHow Maine Medicaid nursing home coverage works in 2026: MaineCare eligibility, the asset limit and savings disregard, patient liability, and estate recovery. MedicaidMaine Medicaid HCBS WaiversMaine Medicaid HCBS waivers pay for home and community care through the Section 19 waiver. See who qualifies, what it covers, and how to apply. Care TypesHow to Pay for Assisted Living in MaineHow to pay for assisted living in Maine in 2026: private pay, long-term care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance, and the MaineCare services that help. VA BenefitsVA Aid and Attendance in MaineVA Aid and Attendance in Maine for 2026: who qualifies, monthly rates up to $2,874, how to apply, and free help filing from Maine Veteran Service Officers. FinancialMaine Senior Property Tax ReliefMaine senior property tax relief: the Property Tax Fairness Credit pays up to $2,000 at 65+, with a 2025 income limit of $102,500. Plus Homestead and deferral.

Find personalized help paying for senior care in Maine at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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Brevy Care Team

Expert eldercare guidance from Brevy's team of healthcare professionals and researchers.