Short answer: Yes. For 2026, a person whose equity in the home exceeds $752,000 cannot get Medicaid payment for nursing facility care or HCBS waiver services, unless a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child lives in the home.
Federal law (from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005) disqualifies long-term care applicants with substantial home equity. Texas’s limit is $752,000 effective January 1, 2026, and it can rise each year with inflation.
- The limit does not apply if the person’s spouse, child under 21, or blind or disabled child lawfully lives in the home.
- It is measured on equity (value minus debts against the home), and it is checked at application and at every redetermination, so appreciation can cause a problem later.
- A nursing facility resident over the limit keeps other Medicaid benefits, but Medicaid does not pay the facility. Unlike a transfer penalty, this has no end date; it lasts until equity drops to the limit or below.
- For HCBS waiver services, being over the limit means denial.
Undue hardship can be considered using the transfer-of-assets hardship criteria. Reducing equity (for example, a home equity loan) is a planning step to take with an elder-law attorney.
Sources
Texas HHSC MEPD Handbook F-3600, Substantial Home Equityfhb.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/medicaid-elderly-people-disabilities-handbook/f-3600-substantial-home-equity42 U.S.C. 1396p (transfers, trusts, estate recovery, home equity)law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396pTexas HHSC MEPD Handbook, Appendix XXXI, Budget Reference Chart (Revision 26-2)fhb.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/medicaid-elderly-people-disabilities-handbook/appendix-xxxi-budget-reference-chart