Once someone is living in a Massachusetts long-term-care facility, a specific set of MassHealth figures kicks in. For 2026, the state sets the monthly personal-needs allowance and long-term-care income standard at $72.80, caps home equity at $1,130,000, and applies its current spousal resource standards on top of that.
MassHealth doesn't just take a resident's income and hand the rest to the facility — 130 CMR 520.000 lays out a specific order of deductions used to calculate the monthly patient-paid amount. That sequence works through the personal-needs allowance first, then spousal-maintenance and family-maintenance allowances where they apply, then home-maintenance costs, and finally health-care or incurred medical and remedial-care expenses.
Getting into a facility on MassHealth's dime also requires clearing a clinical hurdle, not just a financial one: an ASAP Clinical Assessment and Eligibility screening has to approve the placement before nursing-facility payment can begin.