Nebraska Medicare Savings Program Asset Limits: What Counts

The most common reason families never apply for Nebraska's Medicare Savings Programs is a number they looked up for the wrong program. Standard Nebraska Medicaid limits assets to $4,000 for one person and $6,000 for a couple. The Medicare Savings Programs use completely different — and much higher — limits. Getting these confused is how eligible seniors with modest savings talk themselves out of applying.

2026 MSP Resource Limits

All three MSP tiers (QMB, SLMB, QI) share the same resource caps in Nebraska:

• Individual: $9,950
• Couple: $14,910

These follow the federal MIPPA (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act) standards, not the state's AABD Medicaid limits. Nebraska has not elected to eliminate the MSP resource test — it enforces the full MIPPA asset test for all three tiers.

What Doesn't Count

Nebraska DHHS excludes these from the resource calculation:

• Primary home: Completely excluded regardless of equity value, including contiguous land
• One vehicle: Fully excluded regardless of market value
• Household goods: Furniture, appliances, clothing, family heirlooms
• Burial plots: For you, your spouse, or immediate family — no dollar limit
• Irrevocable burial contracts: Pre-funded funeral trusts up to $6,924 (effective September 1, 2026)
• Term life insurance: Policies with no cash surrender value

What Counts

• Bank accounts: Checking, savings, money market, CDs
• Investment accounts: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds
• Secondary real estate: Rental properties, vacation homes, land not your primary residence
• Whole life insurance cash value: Only if total face value across all policies exceeds $1,500 — then the aggregate cash surrender value counts
• Retirement accounts: IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s count as liquid resources unless they're structured to distribute mandatory periodic payments, in which case the periodic distributions count as income instead

Joint Bank Accounts

If a senior holds a joint account with an adult child, Nebraska presumes 100% of the funds belong to the applicant. You can rebut this by submitting proof of the child's deposits — direct deposit records showing salary flowing into the account work well. Once verified, DHHS counts only the applicant's actual contributed funds.

The Asset Timing Rule

DHHS checks resource levels as of the first moment of the calendar month. If a checking account regularly fluctuates between $8,000 and $11,000, timing the application month matters. You're eligible if countable resources are at or below $9,950 on the first of the month you apply.

Spousal Asset Rules

When both spouses apply together, combined resources are measured against the $14,910 couple limit. When only one spouse applies and they live together, Nebraska applies spousal deeming rules — a portion of the non-applying spouse's resources may be attributed to the applicant.

If spouses are permanently separated and living apart, each is evaluated as an individual against the $9,950 limit.

For the full resource evaluation framework, including how retirement accounts are treated and how to structure accounts for eligibility, see the Nebraska Medicare Savings Programs & Extra Help Guide.

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