New Hampshire Medicaid Income Limits 2026: Do You Qualify?

New Hampshire Medicaid income limits depend on which coverage you need: for long-term care, the 2026 cap is $2,982 a month, while adults under 65 qualify on income alone. The asset limit for a long-term-care applicant is $2,500, or $4,000 where two people are applying, and even people over these limits often still have a way in.1,2

In This Guide

• Which New Hampshire Medicaid Are You Asking About?
• New Hampshire Medicaid Income Limits for Expansion Adults
• New Hampshire Medicaid Income Limits for Long-Term Care
• If You're Over the Income Limit
• The Asset Limit and the Five-Year Look-Back
• What a Nursing-Home Resident Keeps
• Protecting the Spouse Who Stays Home
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Which New Hampshire Medicaid Are You Asking About?

"Do I qualify for New Hampshire Medicaid" doesn't have one answer, because Medicaid covers different groups under different rules. Before looking at a number, figure out which path fits your situation:

• Adults under 65 generally qualify through New Hampshire's Medicaid expansion, based on income alone, with no asset test.3
• People who need long-term care, such as nursing-home or in-home care, face a specific income cap and a strict asset limit, because long-term-care Medicaid is a different program with different math.1,2
• Older adults and people with disabilities who aren't seeking long-term care may qualify through other categories that use income and, in some cases, asset rules.

The rest of this guide walks through the two paths most families ask about: expansion coverage and long-term-care Medicaid.

New Hampshire Medicaid Income Limits for Expansion Adults

New Hampshire adopted the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and runs it as the Granite Advantage Health Care Program. It covers adults age 19 through 64 whose household income is at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, measured under Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) rules, the same income-counting method used for tax returns and marketplace coverage.3

To put the federal poverty level in dollars: for 2026 it is $15,960 a year for one person and $21,640 for a household of two.5 Granite Advantage eligibility runs at 133 percent of those figures, and because it uses MAGI, there is no asset or resource test for this group. One detail matters if you are close to the line: MAGI counting subtracts a standard disregard worth 5 percentage points of the federal poverty level, which is why the effective cutoff for this group is commonly described as 138 percent of poverty rather than 133. Don't rule yourself out on the 133 figure alone. If your income is in that range and you're under 65, this is usually the path that applies to you.3

New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire uses an income cap: for 2026, an applicant's monthly income must be at or below $2,982. New Hampshire DHHS calls this the nursing facility cap, and it governs categorically-needy eligibility for nursing-facility care, home and community-based services, and the Choices for Independence waiver alike.1 The figure is set for the individual applying for care, not the household, and it equals the federal ceiling on the special income level, 300 percent of the SSI benefit rate, which is why it resets every January.

Being a dollar or two over the cap does not automatically end the conversation, which is what the next section is about. But the cap is the first test for long-term-care coverage, and it sits alongside the asset limit and, for married couples, the spousal protections covered further down.

If You're Over the Income Limit

Being over an income limit is not automatically the end of the road. The medically-needy category is optional under federal rules, and New Hampshire is one of the states that elects it, running it as "In and Out" Medical Assistance. It's for people whose income is too high for regular Medicaid but not enough to cover their medical bills. Under it, you qualify by incurring medical expenses that reduce your countable income to a state-set standard, a process often called spending down. The standard itself is set by the state and changes over time, so ask for the current figure rather than working from one you read somewhere.4

In practice, the medical bills you're responsible for count against the income that put you over the limit, and once you've met the threshold for the period, Medicaid covers the rest. If your income is over $2,982 a month and you're applying for long-term care, ask the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) whether the In and Out pathway is open for the coverage you need and how the spend-down would work for your numbers. It is a question worth asking directly, because the answer depends on the category you're applying under.1

The Asset Limit and the Five-Year Look-Back

For long-term-care Medicaid, income is only half the test. New Hampshire also applies an asset limit: $2,500 in countable resources for one individual, and $4,000 for two individuals, rising by $100 for each additional family member. If one spouse is applying and the other stays home, the couple is not held to that $4,000 figure; spousal impoverishment rules protect considerably more, covered further down.2 Not everything counts. The home you live in and certain other 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, New Hampshire looks back at asset transfers made in the 60 months (five years) before you apply. A gift or a sale for less than fair market value during that window can trigger a penalty period that delays coverage.6 This look-back applies only to long-term-care Medicaid, not to expansion or regular coverage, but for a family planning ahead it's the single most important rule to understand early.

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, a small monthly amount the resident keeps for personal expenses like clothing and toiletries. The federal floor is at least $30 a month for an individual, and states set their own amount at or above that floor.7 New Hampshire sets its own figure well above that floor: $90 a month, effective July 1, 2025, up from $74, as state law (RSA 167:27-b) requires. It applies to residents of nursing facilities, community residences, and residential care facilities, and to people receiving Choices for Independence services at home. The rest of the resident's income goes toward the cost of care.1

Protecting the Spouse Who Stays Home

If one spouse enters a nursing facility and the other stays home, the asset limit above is not the whole story. Spousal impoverishment rules let the at-home spouse keep a protected share of the couple's savings, well above the applicant's $2,500 limit, plus a monthly income allowance drawn from the resident spouse's income.8

One boundary is worth knowing before you plan around it. New Hampshire writes these spousal protections for nursing-facility cases. Someone who qualifies for home and community-based care through the Choices for Independence waiver is treated as an assistance group of one, even when a spouse lives in the same house.1 If in-home care is the path you're pursuing, ask DHHS directly how your spouse's income and resources will be counted rather than assuming the nursing-home rules carry over. The details, including New Hampshire's protected resource amount and how it's calculated, are in our New Hampshire spousal impoverishment guide.

Learn More

Find personalized help checking your New Hampshire 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.