DHCF's Institutional Care Program covers District residents who need an institutional level of care, whether that's in a nursing facility or an intermediate-care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. The financial rules are the same ones that apply across DHCF's long-term-care framework: a 2026 Special Income Standard of $2,982 per month, resource limits of $4,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a married couple, and a medically needy spend-down alternative for people whose income is higher but who carry substantial medical expenses.
Meeting the financial rules is only half the equation for nursing-facility admission. DHCF's nursing-facility quick reference also requires a resident to meet nursing-facility level-of-care criteria, generally established through a comprehensive health assessment. For applicants with serious mental illness or an intellectual disability, there's an additional step: Preadmission Screening and Resident Review, which determines whether nursing-facility placement is actually appropriate and needed before admission moves forward.
In 2026, families should also know that the personal-needs allowance for nursing-facility residents on Medicaid is $109 per month — the amount a resident is allowed to keep for personal expenses out of their own income once Medicaid is covering the rest of their care.