Minnesota Medicaid Income Limits 2026: Eligibility & Assets

There are two Minnesota Medicaid income limits, and the one that applies depends on your age. An adult under 65 who is not on Medicare qualifies at 138% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines with no asset test at all. Someone 65 or older, or qualifying on the basis of blindness or disability, is measured against a 100% FPG standard and a $3,000 asset limit, higher than the $2,000 federal SSI resource standard. Minnesota calls the program Medical Assistance (MA), runs it through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), and qualifies over-income applicants through a medically needy spend-down rather than a hard income cap, so no Qualified Income Trust is required.1,2,3,4

This guide covers both tracks for 2026: which test applies to you, Minnesota's MAGI income standards by group, what happens on your 65th birthday when the MAGI pathway closes, and then the long-term-care rules in depth (the $3,000 asset limit, how the spend-down replaces an income cliff, what a nursing-home resident keeps, what a spouse at home is protected from, and how to apply).

In This Guide

• Which Income Limits Apply: MAGI or ABD
• The Asset Limit
• How the Income Limits Work: Spend-Down
• Long-Term Care: What a Nursing-Home Resident Keeps
• Protecting the Spouse Who Stays Home
• After Death: Estate Recovery
• How to Apply
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Which Minnesota Medicaid income limits apply: MAGI or ABD

Minnesota runs two different income tests under the same Medical Assistance name, and they give different answers for the same household. Which one applies depends on who is applying, not on which number is easier to find.

• The MAGI test covers children, pregnant women, parents and relative caretakers, and adults without children who are under 65 and not enrolled in Medicare. It measures Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), and it applies no asset test.2,3
• The ABD test covers people 65 and older and people whose eligibility is being determined on the basis of blindness or a disability. It uses the SSI-related income rules, and it does apply an asset limit. This is the long-term-care track the rest of this guide covers.1,3

The $3,000 asset limit and the 100% FPG income standard in this guide are the ABD numbers.1 If the person you are checking on is under 65 and not on Medicare, the MAGI figures below are the ones that decide their case.

Minnesota's MAGI income standards for 2026

Two numbers appear for the expansion group because Minnesota publishes its limits before the disregard is applied. Federal law requires a standard disregard equal to 5 percentage points of the poverty guideline, which effectively lifts the adult group's limit by five points. So the adult standard is 133% FPG as printed in Minnesota's tables and 138% FPG once the disregard is counted. Both figures describe the same rule.2,8

Above the Medical Assistance limit, Minnesota does not simply cut adults off. MinnesotaCare, the state's Basic Health Program, covers adults with income above the MA limit up to 200% FPG.2

Parents and relative caretakers

Parents and other relative caretakers of dependent children are a federally mandatory Medicaid group, but federal law does not peg their coverage to a percentage of the poverty level. Each state sets its own standard between a floor and a ceiling, and the floor is the state's old cash-welfare (AFDC) income standard as of May 1, 1988, converted to a MAGI equivalent. In a state that never adopted the ACA expansion, that state-set standard, not a poverty-level percentage, decides whether a working parent qualifies.9

Minnesota publishes its standard as a poverty-level percentage. A parent or relative caretaker of a dependent child qualifies for Medical Assistance up to 133% FPG, the same base standard the state applies to adults without children.2

This is the group a grandparent raising a grandchild would look to. Whether a particular relative meets Minnesota's definition of a caretaker relative turns on the household and the child's dependency, so ask a county or tribal human services office to make that determination rather than assuming it either way.

No asset test on the MAGI pathway

Federal law bars a state from applying any assets or resources test to the MAGI groups: expansion adults, children, pregnant women, and parents and caretaker relatives.3 That is the sharpest difference between the two tracks on this page. The $3,000 countable-asset limit that governs a 66-year-old's application does not touch a 63-year-old applying through MAGI. An applicant on the MAGI pathway who is worried about the asset limit is worried about the wrong test.3,1

The 65th birthday: when the MAGI pathway closes

Minnesota covers the ACA expansion adult group, so an adult without children aged 21 through 64 qualifies for Medical Assistance up to 133% FPG as published, 138% FPG once the standard disregard applies.2,8 Nationally, 41 states including the District of Columbia have adopted the expansion and 10 have not.2

The expansion group is written narrowly. It covers people under 65 who are not pregnant and not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare, at an effective ceiling of 138% of the federal poverty level, and, being a MAGI group, it applies no asset test.8,3 For one person in 2026 that ceiling works out to about $1,835/month, 138% of the $15,960/year federal poverty guideline for one person in the 48 contiguous states and DC, divided by twelve. HHS publishes separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.5,8

On the 65th birthday that pathway closes. The same person is assessed on the SSI-related ABD track instead, the track federal law expressly excepts from the MAGI no-asset-test rule.3 Two things change at once in Minnesota: the income standard drops from 138% FPG to the MA-ABD standard of 100% FPG, about $1,330/month for an individual, and a $3,000 countable-asset limit appears where none applied before.1

So a 64-year-old covered at $1,600/month with $10,000 in savings can be over both tests the day they turn 65, without a dollar of their income or savings changing. What saves them in Minnesota is the spend-down: because the state is a section 209(b) medically needy state rather than an income-cap state, being over the standard means spending the excess down on medical and care costs, not being shut out.1 The asset limit is the harder of the two, and it is the one worth planning for before the birthday rather than after.

Children and CHIP, briefly

Federal law makes coverage of children under 19 mandatory down to at least 133% FPL, a floor states may exceed.10 Minnesota covers well above it, at 283% FPG under age 2 and 275% FPG for ages 2 through 18, and it runs no separate CHIP program: CHIP-funded children are covered inside Medical Assistance, which is why Minnesota's entry in the federal Separate CHIP column reads N/A.2,10

The Minnesota Medicaid asset limit: a $3,000 feature, not the $2,000 default

The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program's limit on countable resources is $2,000 for an individual.6 Minnesota sits higher. As a section 209(b) state, Minnesota lets a single Medical Assistance applicant for aged, blind, and disabled coverage (MA-ABD) keep $3,000 in countable assets, and a household of two keep $6,000, with another $200 added per additional household member, per the Minnesota Health Care Programs Eligibility Policy Manual.1

The extra $1,000 over the federal SSI standard is real but modest. The larger protections for a married couple come from the spousal-impoverishment rules below, not from the individual asset limit.1

The $3,000 is a limit on countable assets, and Minnesota excludes a long list from the count: the homestead (subject to a home-equity limit), a motor vehicle of any value used to transport the applicant or a household member, household goods and certain personal effects, prepaid burial spaces, and certain burial funds and arrangements. So the $3,000 applies to things like bank accounts and investments, not the roof over your head. Minnesota's 2026 home-equity limit is $752,000, and DHS's manual says it applies only in specific situations and at certain times.1

How the Minnesota Medicaid income limits work: spend-down

The MA-ABD income standard in Minnesota is 100% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. DHS's own income guidelines chart prints $1,330/month for a household of one, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.1 HHS publishes the 2026 two-person guideline as $21,640 a year.5

Being over that number does not disqualify you. Minnesota is a section 209(b) medically needy state. A person whose income exceeds 100% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and who has medical expenses may qualify for Medical Assistance with a spend-down: the excess income becomes a spend-down amount, and once you incur that much in medical and care costs, Medicaid covers the rest.1

You may also see a Special Income Standard of $2,982/month for 2026, the same figure as 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. Minnesota's manual uses it to determine certain criteria for the Elderly Waiver program, so don't read it as the income limit for nursing-home Medical Assistance or for every waiver.1,6 A nursing-home resident on Medical Assistance contributes income toward the cost of care after set allowances are deducted.3

Because of the spend-down, Minnesota does not require a Qualified Income Trust, also called a Miller Trust. Federal law confines that trust to income-cap states, where it is the route for an applicant whose income is over the limit; it does not apply in a state that covers nursing-facility care through the medically needy pathway.4 Minnesota has no such cliff: if your income is high, you spend it down or contribute it toward care.1

Long-term care: what a nursing-home resident keeps

When Minnesota Medical Assistance pays for nursing-facility care, the resident contributes income toward the cost of care, but only after allowances come off the top: a personal needs allowance, a maintenance allowance for a spouse or family at home, and unpaid medical costs such as health-insurance premiums.3 Minnesota's Clothing and Personal Needs Allowance is $132/month for 2026, more than four times the $30 federal floor, and the manual uses it when the enrollee doesn't qualify for one of Minnesota's other long-term-care needs allowances, such as the Home Maintenance Allowance.1,3

The same $3,000 asset limit applies to nursing-home applicants.1 And because Minnesota uses a spend-down rather than an income cap, even a resident with substantial monthly income can qualify; they simply contribute more of it toward care. For the national picture on how the allowance is set, see our explainer on the Medicaid personal needs allowance.

The five-year look-back

Minnesota reviews asset transfers made in the 60 months before a long-term-care application.1,11 Giving away money or property for less than fair market value inside that window, such as gifting a grandchild a down payment or signing a house over to a child for a dollar, can trigger a penalty period during which Medical Assistance will not pay for long-term-care services, even though you are otherwise eligible. Under Minn. Stat. 256B.0595, the penalty in months is the uncompensated value transferred divided by the statewide average payment for skilled nursing facility care: $11,869 for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, up from $11,653 the year before, and DHS updates it each July.12

Paying a relative for care counts too. Minnesota applies the look-back to payments for care or personal services by a relative unless the pay was set in a notarized, written agreement that existed when the care was given, the care directly benefited the person, and the pay was reasonable for the work. A notarized agreement is not required if the relative was paid within 60 days after providing the service. Family caregiver pay that meets neither route can be treated as an uncompensated transfer.4 See our guide to the personal care agreement.

Some transfers are exempt, including transfers to a spouse, transfers to a blind or disabled child, and certain home transfers to a caregiver child.11 There are legitimate planning approaches too, but anything done inside the five-year window deserves an elder-law attorney's review first. If long-term care is on the horizon for someone in your family, talk to a professional before moving assets. For the broader toolkit, see our guide to Medicaid planning strategies.

Protecting the spouse who stays home

When one spouse needs long-term care and the other stays in the community, federal spousal-impoverishment rules keep the at-home spouse from being left destitute, and Minnesota's 2026 allowance figures are the federal amounts.1,7 Minnesota runs its spousal asset assessment for two groups only: spouses applying for Elderly Waiver services and spouses who live in a long-term-care facility. For applicants to Minnesota's other home and community-based waivers, the at-home spouse's assets are not considered for eligibility at all.1

A married couple is in a very different position from a single applicant. For 2026 the federal spousal resource standards are a $32,532 minimum and a $162,660 maximum, and each state elects its standard within that range; Minnesota's manual uses $162,660 for the community spouse asset allowance.7,1 Under federal law those standards don't cap the allowance itself: an amount set at a fair hearing, or transferred under a court order, can exceed $162,660.7 The Minnesota guidance behind these figures doesn't address those routes for assets, so talk to an elder-law attorney before counting on one. On income, Minnesota does address it: if the at-home spouse obtains a court support order for a higher monthly allowance than the maximum, the spouse receiving care can transfer the amount the order specifies.1

After death: estate recovery

Federal law directs states to seek recovery from the estates of certain Medicaid recipients, and Minnesota does so under Minn. Stat. 256B.15.4,13 For a recipient who was 55 or older, Minnesota's claim covers only nursing-facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.13 A surviving spouse, or a surviving child who is under 21, blind, or permanently and totally disabled, delays recovery rather than cancelling it, and an heir can apply for an undue-hardship waiver, with an application deadline of 30 days from the date on the notice of claim.13 For how recovery works and where families have room to plan, see our Medicaid estate recovery explainer.

How to apply for Minnesota Medical Assistance

Minnesota Medical Assistance is administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). You can apply with the MNsure online application, or on paper through a county or tribal servicing agency. The paper route uses either the MNsure paper form (DHS-6696) or the MHCP Application for Certain Populations (DHS-3876), which is only for households where everyone fits one of its listed groups, such as being 65 or older, being blind or having a disability, or being 21 or older with Medicare and no children under 19 at home.1 For nursing-facility care, Medical Assistance also requires a MnCHOICES assessment showing that the person needs a nursing-home level of care.14

Apply even if you think you are over the limit. The asset count leaves out the homestead (within the home-equity limit), a vehicle used for transportation and household goods, and income over the standard can be spent down on medical costs instead of ending eligibility, so being over a number on this page does not by itself rule you out.1

Learn More

Find personalized help working through Minnesota Medical Assistance eligibility for your family 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.