Ohio Medicaid Exempt Assets: What You Can Keep and Still Qualify

The $2,000 Limit Has a Lot of Exceptions

Ohio's Medicaid long-term care program caps countable assets at $2,000 for a single applicant. That number makes families panic — it sounds like your parent must be nearly destitute to qualify. But the $2,000 limit applies only to countable resources. Ohio exempts an entire category of assets from the calculation, and understanding those exemptions is the difference between a compliant spend-down plan and an unnecessary liquidation of everything your parent owns.

Assets Ohio Does Not Count

Under OAC Rule 5160:1-3-05.1, the following resources are excluded from the $2,000 countable limit:

Primary residence — The home is exempt as long as the equity interest is at or below $752,000 (the 2026 federal minimum home equity limit) and the applicant states an intent to return home. The intent-to-return standard is a declaration, not a medical prognosis — even if your parent is unlikely to leave the nursing facility, the exemption holds as long as no one formally abandons the intent. If a spouse, minor child, or adult disabled child continues to live in the home, the exemption applies regardless of equity value.

One vehicle — Ohio exempts one automobile of any value. There is no mileage cap, no age restriction, and no requirement that the applicant still drives. If your parent owns a single car worth $35,000, it does not count.

Personal and household goods — Furniture, clothing, kitchen appliances, jewelry (within reasonable limits), and similar personal property. The CDJFS does not appraise household contents.

Irrevocable prepaid funeral contracts — This is one of the most important spend-down tools in Ohio. An irrevocable preneed funeral contract funded through the assignment of a life insurance policy or a trust has no dollar limit on exemption. A revocable burial fund is capped at $1,500.

Designated burial fund — Up to $1,500 set aside in a separately identifiable account designated for burial expenses. This is in addition to any irrevocable prepaid funeral arrangement.

Burial plot and related items — Burial spaces, caskets, urns, headstones, and markers for the applicant and immediate family members. No dollar limit.

Retirement accounts in payout status — This one surprises most families. If an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) is in active payout status — meaning the applicant is taking systematic monthly Required Minimum Distributions — the entire principal balance is excluded from countable resources. The monthly distribution is treated as income instead, applied against the Special Income Level or patient liability calculation.

If the same account is in accumulation status (no systematic withdrawals), the entire balance counts as a liquid resource — potentially pushing the applicant thousands of dollars over the $2,000 limit.

Life insurance with face value at or below $1,500 — Term life and whole life policies with a combined face value of $1,500 or less are fully exempt. If the combined face value exceeds $1,500, the cash surrender value of all policies becomes a countable resource.

Assets Ohio Does Count

Everything not on the exempt list is countable:

• Checking and savings accounts
• Certificates of deposit
• Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Secondary real estate (rental properties, vacation homes, vacant land)
• Cash value of life insurance policies with combined face value over $1,500
• Retirement accounts not in payout status
• Cash on hand

All countable resources must be at or below $2,000 on the first moment of the first day of the month being evaluated for eligibility.

The Spend-Down Strategy

Knowing what is exempt tells you exactly how to spend down legally. Families convert countable cash into exempt resources:

• Pay off the mortgage on the primary residence (reduces countable cash, increases exempt home equity)
• Purchase an irrevocable prepaid funeral contract (any amount, fully exempt)
• Make capital home improvements — roof repairs, HVAC replacement, accessibility modifications like ramps or walk-in showers
• Upgrade to a reliable vehicle (the old one is sold and the new one becomes the single exempt vehicle)
• Pay outstanding medical debts, property taxes, and legitimate legal fees
• Put an IRA into payout status by initiating systematic monthly RMD withdrawals

Every dollar converted from countable to exempt is a dollar your parent keeps while still qualifying for Medicaid coverage.

Married Couples: The Spousal Resource Allowance

If your parent is married, the math changes. The community spouse (the healthy spouse living at home) is entitled to a Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA). In 2026, the CSRA ranges from a minimum of $32,532 to a maximum of $162,660, depending on the couple's total pooled countable resources at the snapshot date.

Only the amount over the CSRA plus the applicant's $2,000 individual limit must be spent down. For many married couples, this means significantly more assets are protected than single applicants realize.

Our Ohio Medicaid Long-Term Care & Asset Protection Guide walks through the complete spend-down sequence — which conversions to do first, how to document each transaction for the CDJFS, and the specific timing required to have assets below the limit on the eligibility date.

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