Community Spouse Resource Allowance Washington: CSRA and MMMNA Rules for 2026

What Spousal Impoverishment Protection Actually Does

When one spouse enters a nursing home, assisted living facility, or adult family home on Medicaid, federal and state rules prevent the system from financially destroying the spouse who remains at home. Without these protections, the community spouse would have to spend down virtually everything before Medicaid covers the institutionalized spouse's care.

Washington implements these federal spousal impoverishment protections through two mechanisms: the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) for assets and the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) for income. Understanding both is critical because they operate on different schedules, different thresholds, and different legal frameworks.

CSRA: How Much the Community Spouse Keeps

The CSRA determines what portion of a couple's combined countable assets the community spouse can retain. Washington uses the federal framework, applied at the "snapshot" date — the first day of the month the applicant spouse enters a care facility or begins receiving waiver services.

On that snapshot date, DSHS tallies all of the couple's joint countable resources. Then:

• If combined resources are $145,058 or less: The community spouse keeps 100% of joint assets up to the state spousal resource standard of $72,529 in 2026.
• If combined resources exceed $145,058: The community spouse keeps 50% of the total, capped at the federal maximum of $162,660 in 2026.

The applicant spouse must spend down their remaining share to $2,000 before Medicaid coverage begins.

Assets that do not count in this calculation include the primary home (up to $1,130,000 in equity), one vehicle, personal belongings, household furnishings, and irrevocable burial trusts.

Example: A couple has $200,000 in combined countable assets (bank accounts, investments, IRAs). The community spouse keeps 50%, or $100,000 — well under the $162,660 federal cap. The applicant spouse must spend their $100,000 share down to $2,000 before qualifying. That spend-down can go toward the home mortgage, prepaid burial, medical expenses, or the care facility's private-pay rate during the application period.

MMMNA: Monthly Income Protection

The MMMNA protects the community spouse's monthly income. From July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, the standard MMMNA in Washington is $2,705 per month.

If the community spouse's own monthly income (Social Security, pension, investment income) falls below $2,705, they are entitled to a Spousal Income Allowance — income diverted from the institutionalized spouse to bring the community spouse up to the MMMNA threshold.

The MMMNA can be increased above $2,705 if the community spouse's monthly housing costs exceed the "shelter standard" of $811.50. Qualifying housing expenses include rent or mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and a standard utility allowance. The excess housing cost is added to the base MMMNA, but the total spousal income cannot exceed the federal maximum of $4,066.50 per month in 2026.

Example: A community spouse receives $1,900 per month in Social Security. The standard MMMNA is $2,705. They are entitled to $805 per month diverted from the institutionalized spouse's income. If their monthly housing costs total $1,400 (well above the $811.50 shelter standard), the excess $588.50 bumps their MMMNA to $3,293.50, increasing the spousal diversion to $1,393.50 per month.

The Update Schedule Trap

These figures change on different schedules, and families who use last year's numbers can miscalculate badly:

• State spousal resource standard ($72,529): Updates in odd-numbered years, historically in July.
• Federal maximum CSRA ($162,660): Updates annually in January.
• MMMNA ($2,705): Updates annually in July.
• Federal maximum MMMNA ($4,066.50): Updates annually in January.

When planning a Medicaid application, verify the current figures with DSHS or the Health Care Authority website. Numbers from even six months ago may be outdated.

How to Increase the CSRA

If the standard CSRA allocation would leave the community spouse in financial hardship, two options exist:

Administrative fair hearing. The community spouse can request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings to argue that the standard CSRA is insufficient to maintain their needs. DSHS must consider the community spouse's income-generating capacity, reasonable expenses, and the need to maintain a standard of living that prevents their own impoverishment.

Court-ordered support. A state court can order a higher CSRA as part of a spousal support proceeding. This route involves filing a petition in Superior Court, which adds legal costs but can result in a significantly higher protected asset amount.

Both options are underused. Families often accept the standard CSRA without realizing they can challenge it, particularly when the community spouse has high medical expenses or a mortgage that the standard allocation cannot sustain.

Practical Steps for Couples Facing Long-Term Care

Document everything on the snapshot date. Pull statements for every account — banks, brokerages, IRAs, 401(k)s — dated as close to the first day of the month of facility admission as possible. DSHS uses these snapshot-date values, not current balances, to calculate the CSRA.

Gather the community spouse's income documentation: Social Security benefit letter, pension statements, any investment income records. Calculate whether a Spousal Income Allowance is needed and whether the excess shelter deduction applies.

For families managing these spousal protections alongside a hospital discharge, the Hospital-to-Home Washington guide includes a CSRA calculation worksheet and a client participation formula that accounts for the spousal income diversion — helping you verify the numbers before DSHS issues the final determination.

See more Washington guides →