Michigan Medicaid Income Limits 2026: Do You Qualify?

Michigan Medicaid income limits depend on which coverage you need: for long-term care, the 2026 income limit is $2,982 a month, while most adults under 65 are measured on income.1 The asset limit is $9,950 for a single long-term-care applicant, and even people over these limits often still have a way in.

In This Guide

• Which Michigan Medicaid Are You Asking About?
• Michigan Medicaid Income Limits for Adults Under 65
• Michigan Medicaid Income Limits for Long-Term Care
• If You're Over the Long-Term-Care Income Limit
• The Asset Limit and the Five-Year Look-Back
• What Happens to Your Eligibility When You Turn 65
• What a Nursing-Home Resident Keeps
• Protecting the Spouse Who Stays Home
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Which Michigan Medicaid Are You Asking About?

"Do I qualify for Michigan Medicaid" doesn't have one answer, because Medicaid covers different groups under different rules, and each group has its own income limit. Before looking at a number, figure out which path fits your situation:

• Adults under 65 generally qualify through Michigan's Medicaid expansion, which measures income with no asset test.2
• People who need long-term care, such as nursing-home or in-home care, face a specific income cap and a separate asset limit, because long-term-care Medicaid runs on different math.1
• Adults 65 or older, or anyone on Medicare, are measured against the aged-and-disabled rules instead, which use a lower income figure and do apply an asset test.4

The rest of this guide walks through those paths one at a time, starting with the one most families ask about.

Michigan Medicaid Income Limits for Adults Under 65

Michigan adopted the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and runs it as the Healthy Michigan Plan. It covers adults age 19 through 64 whose household income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), measured under Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) rules, the same income-counting method used for tax returns and Marketplace coverage.2

To put that in dollars: the 2026 federal poverty level is $15,960 a year for one person, so the Healthy Michigan Plan ceiling of 138 percent works out to roughly $22,000 a year, or about $1,835 a month, for a single person.3,2 Because this pathway uses MAGI, there is no asset or resource test for this group. Savings, a car, and a retirement account do not count against you here.2 If your income is in that range and you're under 65, this is usually the path that applies to you.

Michigan is one of the 41 states (including the District of Columbia) that adopted the expansion, so this working-age-adult coverage exists here. In the 10 states that did not expand, it isn't available at all, which is why a low-income adult can qualify in Michigan and not next door.5

Michigan Medicaid Income Limits for Long-Term Care

Long-term-care Medicaid, the coverage that pays for a nursing home or home- and community-based care, works differently. Michigan uses an income limit set at 300 percent of the SSI benefit rate: for 2026, an applicant's monthly income must be at or below $2,982.1,4 This figure is measured for the individual applying for care, and it counts Social Security, pensions, and most other income.

Being a little over that figure does not automatically end the conversation, which is what the next section covers. But the income limit is the first test for long-term-care coverage, and it sits alongside a much higher asset limit than the one other groups face, plus the spousal protections covered further down.

If You're Over the Long-Term-Care Income Limit

If your income is above the long-term-care cap, Michigan gives you a route that many families don't know about. Michigan is a medically-needy state, which means someone whose income is too high for regular long-term-care Medicaid can still qualify by "spending down" the excess: you incur medical expenses that reduce your countable income to Michigan's Protected Income Level, and once you've met that threshold for the period, Medicaid covers the rest.1

The exact spend-down math depends on your county and your care setting, so if you're applying for long-term care and your income is over $2,982 a month, ask the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) specifically how the spend-down would work for your numbers.1 The point to hold onto is that being over the income limit rarely means "you don't qualify" in Michigan.

The Asset Limit and the Five-Year Look-Back

For long-term-care Medicaid, income is only half the test. Michigan also applies an asset limit, and here the number is more generous than most people expect: $9,950 in countable resources for a single applicant in the SSI-related long-term-care categories, effective January 1, 2026.1 That's far above the $2,000 limit that applies to other, non-long-term-care groups, so don't assume the $2,000 figure you may have read on a national chart is your number.1 Not everything counts, either: the home you live in and certain personal property are generally excluded, so the countable figure is usually a matter of bank accounts, investments, and similar assets.

There's one more review to know about. For long-term-care applications, Michigan looks back at asset transfers made in the 60 months (five years) before you apply.6 A gift or a sale for less than fair market value during that window can trigger a penalty period that delays coverage, calculated from the amount you transferred.1 This look-back applies only to long-term-care Medicaid, not to Healthy Michigan Plan or other regular coverage, but for a family planning ahead it's the single most important rule to understand early. The sooner you understand it, the more of your options you keep.

What Happens to Your Eligibility When You Turn 65

Turning 65 can change which rules govern your Medicaid, and it catches Michigan families every year, even though nothing about your income changed.

The Healthy Michigan Plan is written for adults under 65, so on your 65th birthday that door closes and you're generally assessed on the aged, blind, and disabled (ABD) track instead.7 Reaching Medicare before 65, through a disability, can move you the same way. Two things change at once:

• The income yardstick drops. It becomes the SSI federal benefit rate of $994 a month for an individual, rather than 138 percent of the poverty level.4
• An asset test appears. The MAGI groups are barred from applying one; the ABD track is not.2

So a 64-year-old covered under the Healthy Michigan Plan can, at 65, find themselves over both tests at once, with neither their income nor their savings having moved. If that's you and your income is above $994, don't stop there: most retirees on Social Security are over that figure, and the Michigan Medicare Savings Programs reach well past it to help pay your Medicare costs.4

What a Nursing-Home Resident Keeps

When someone on Medicaid lives in a nursing home, most of their income goes toward the cost of care, but not all of it. Federal law guarantees a personal needs allowance (PNA), a small monthly amount the resident keeps for personal expenses like clothing and toiletries. The federal floor is at least $30 a month, and states set their own amount at or above it.8 Michigan sets its nursing-facility personal allowance at $60 a month, or $90 a month for a veteran receiving an Improved Pension.1 Everything above that allowance, minus certain other deductions, goes toward the resident's share of the care cost.

Protecting the Spouse Who Stays Home

If one spouse needs long-term care and the other stays home, the asset limit above is not the whole story. Federal spousal-impoverishment rules let the at-home spouse keep a protected share of the couple's savings, well above the applicant's limit. In Michigan for 2026, that Community Spouse Resource Allowance runs up to a maximum of $162,660, with a minimum protected amount of $32,532.1 The at-home spouse can also keep a monthly income allowance, which starts at $2,705 a month in 2026.1 The full calculation, and how Michigan applies it to your numbers, is in our Michigan Medicaid spousal impoverishment guide.

Learn More

Find personalized help checking your Michigan Medicaid eligibility 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.