Medicare Savings Program Asset Limits in Pennsylvania — What Counts and What Doesn't

The 2026 Resource Limits

Pennsylvania's Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI) all use the same resource thresholds:

• Single person: $9,950
• Married couple: $14,910

These limits apply to "countable" resources — what remains after subtracting everything Pennsylvania exempts. The exemptions are generous enough that many families who assume they're over the limit actually aren't.

What Pennsylvania Does NOT Count

Your home. The primary residence is fully exempt regardless of its equity value, as long as you or your spouse lives there. A $400,000 house doesn't count. This is the single biggest misconception — families regularly avoid applying because they think the house disqualifies them.

One vehicle. One car of any value is exempt if it's used for transportation by you or a household member. A $30,000 car doesn't count. Additional vehicles are not covered by this one-vehicle exclusion and may count as resources.

Household goods and personal effects. Furniture, clothing, appliances — none of these count against the resource limit.

Burial spaces and merchandise. Gravesites, vaults, mausoleums, and caskets for you, your spouse, and immediate family members are exempt.

Irrevocable prepaid funeral contracts. If the funeral arrangement is set up as irrevocable, the full value is excluded.

Term life insurance. Policies with no cash surrender value don't count. Whole-life policies are exempt only if the total face value across all policies per person stays under $1,500 — if it exceeds $1,500, the entire cash surrender value counts.

What Pennsylvania DOES Count

• Cash on hand
• Checking and savings account balances
• Certificates of deposit
• Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Non-exempt life insurance cash surrender values
• Real estate other than your primary home

Include current account balances in your records and identify recent deposits so the County Assistance Office can determine how they are treated under the resource rules.

The Estate Recovery Fear

Many Pennsylvania families confuse Medicare Savings Programs with long-term care Medicaid and assume that enrolling will let the state claim their home after death. This is wrong.

Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI) are exempt from Medicaid estate recovery under federal law. The Commonwealth cannot place a lien on your home or pursue your estate for MSP benefits paid on your behalf.

Estate recovery applies to full Medical Assistance recipients who received long-term care services (nursing home or home and community-based waiver). It does not apply to Healthy Horizons MSP-only enrollees.

Spending Down Isn't Usually Necessary

Unlike long-term care Medicaid — where families sometimes need complex spend-down strategies — the MSP resource limits are high enough that most low-income seniors are already under them. If your parent has $12,000 in savings and a house, the house is exempt and the $12,000 is over by $2,050. Paying off a small debt, prepaying a dental bill, or purchasing a burial plot could bring countable resources under $9,950 without anything artificial.

But be careful with timing. Large, unusual transactions near the application date can draw scrutiny from the CAO. Routine bills and legitimate purchases are fine. Gifts or transfers to family members can trigger complications.

The Pennsylvania Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help & PACE/PACENET Guide includes a resource calculation worksheet that walks through each asset type, applies the exemptions, and gives you a countable total before you apply.

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