Ohio Nursing Home Medicaid

Getting into nursing-facility Medicaid in Ohio starts with financial eligibility, handled by County Departments of Job and Family Services, but that's only half the equation — an applicant also has to meet the state's level-of-care requirements for long-term care.

For 2026, Ohio's Special Income Level is $2,982 per month for someone applying as an institutionalized or HCBS-waiver individual, paired with the same $2,000 countable-resource limit used elsewhere in the program. Income above that cap doesn't necessarily disqualify someone — a Qualified Income Trust can bring an applicant back into range.

Once approved, residents keep a modest amount of income for personal use: Ohio's 2026 personal-needs allowance for nursing-facility residents is $75 per month, factored into the broader patient-liability calculation that determines how much of a resident's income goes toward the cost of care.