A realistic Rhode Island plan starts from the state's actual LTSS thresholds: a $4,000 resource standard for an individual (with the ACA expansion-adult carve-out noted above), and a 300% SSI income standard for older adults and certain Medicare-related groups — $2,982 a month in 2026, since the federal SSI benefit rate is $994. Crucially, the same rule opens a medically needy LTSS door above that income line for people who meet its requirements, and nowhere does it require a Qualified Income Trust.
For a married couple where only one spouse needs LTSS, the math isn't a flat shared cap — it's an allocation process. The state totals the couple's countable resources, sets aside the community spouse's protected share up to the Community Spouse Resource Standard, and compares what's left for the LTSS spouse against the $4,000 line. In 2026, the federal CSRA range runs from $32,532 to $162,660.