Planning in New Jersey has to start with the MLTSS structure itself. DMAHS coordinates everything through managed-care organizations, and the same program covers comprehensive services at home, in assisted living, in community residential settings, and in nursing homes (New Jersey MLTSS overview).
An adult generally needs to clear both a financial test and the clinical bar of nursing-facility level of care — hands-on help with three or more activities of daily living, or cognitive deficits requiring supervision and cueing across three or more of them. A diagnosis by itself doesn't complete that eligibility picture (New Jersey MLTSS clinical criteria).
On the financial side, the numbers that matter are the MLTSS-specific ones, not a generic Medicaid figure: DMAHS's 2026 materials list a $2,000 individual resource limit and a $2,982-a-month income cap for the institutional/MLTSS category, with separate protections for a community spouse and for home equity where they apply (2026 MLTSS application guidance; DMAHS 2026 income standards).