Qualifying for nursing-home help through Montana Medicaid involves both a clinical and a financial track. DPHHS requires that the applicant meet nonfinancial criteria, be admitted on a doctor's order, satisfy the medical criteria for nursing-home-level care, meet the financial standards, and complete a pre-admission screening — which the state routes through Mountain Pacific.
That screening step has a formal name: a Screening Determination, sometimes called a Level of Care review. DPHHS uses the same criteria whether someone is headed to a nursing facility or into an HCBS waiver program, and once completed, the screening stays valid for 90 days. The screening team also sets the effective payment date once every other requirement is satisfied.
On the money side, a resident who qualifies keeps a modest personal-needs allowance of $50 per month, with the rest of their income applied toward the cost of care under the state's post-eligibility budgeting rules.