Medical Assistance for Long-Term Care in Minnesota

What Medical Assistance is

Medical Assistance (MA) is the name Minnesota uses for its Medicaid program. It is run by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and delivered through your county or Tribal human services agency. For long-term care, it is the safety net that takes over when private funds run low.

There are two main ways MA pays for long-term care. It pays for care in a nursing facility for people who need that level of care, and, through home and community-based waivers like the Elderly Waiver, it helps pay for care services delivered in the community, including in a licensed assisted living setting.

What it covers

Depending on the setting and the program a person qualifies for, Medical Assistance can pay for:

• Nursing facility (nursing home) care, including room, board, and skilled nursing, for those who meet the level-of-care and financial rules
• Care and support services in assisted living, through the Elderly Waiver (the waiver pays for services, not the rent and meals)
• In-home personal care, homemaker services, and home-delivered meals
• Doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital care, and other standard health coverage
• Care coordination through a managed-care plan like Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO)

Nursing home vs. community care: how the money works

In a nursing home, Medical Assistance pays the facility directly, and the resident contributes almost all of their monthly income toward the cost of care, keeping only a small personal-needs allowance and certain deductions. There is no separate hard monthly income cap the way many families expect; instead, income is applied to the cost of care.

In the community through the Elderly Waiver, the rules are different: there is a monthly income limit, and the waiver pays for care services while the person covers their own room and board. Our Elderly Waiver guide walks through those community rules in detail.

The 2026 financial limits

To qualify for Medical Assistance for long-term care, a single applicant generally must have countable assets at or below $3,000. A home is usually exempt while the person or their spouse lives there, within an equity limit, and so are one vehicle, personal belongings, and a prepaid burial. Married couples get significant protections so the spouse who stays home is not left without resources (see the sidebar).

These are 2026 figures and they change every year. The exact treatment of your income and assets depends on your situation, so confirm current numbers with your county or Tribal human services agency or the Senior LinkAge Line before you rely on them.

Protections for the spouse at home

When one spouse needs long-term care and the other stays home, Minnesota's spousal-impoverishment rules let the at-home spouse keep a share of the couple's assets (the Community Spouse Resource Allowance) and a minimum monthly income. These protections exist so that paying for one spouse's care does not impoverish the other. An elder-law attorney can help a couple use them correctly.

How to apply, step by step

1. 1

   Contact your county or Tribal human services agency

   This is where Medical Assistance applications are handled. The Senior LinkAge Line (1-800-333-2433) can also point you to the right office and walk you through the basics for free.

2. 2

   Request a long-term care consultation

   A trained assessor determines whether your parent meets the nursing-facility level of care that long-term care coverage requires.

3. 3

   Complete the Medical Assistance application

   This includes the long-term-care asset assessment. Gather financial records going back five years, because there is a look-back on asset transfers.

4. 4

   Get elder-law advice if assets are over the limit

   Before spending down or transferring anything, talk to a qualified elder-law attorney. Improper transfers can cause a penalty period. Legitimate spend-down is fine; gifting is not.

5. 5

   Choose a setting and start care

   Once approved, coverage begins for a qualifying nursing home or, through the Elderly Waiver, community services. Timing varies, so start early and ask your county or Tribal human services agency what to expect.