Rhode Island Medicare Savings Program Asset Limits: What Counts and What's Exempt

2026 Asset Limits

Both QMB and QI in Rhode Island use the same countable resource limits:

• Individual: $9,950
• Married couple: $14,910

These are the countable resource limits DHS applies when it evaluates your application.

What Counts as a Countable Asset

DHS looks at liquid and accessible resources:

• Bank accounts: Checking, savings, money market — the current balance in every account you own or co-own
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): The full value
• Stocks, mutual funds, and bonds: Current market value
• Cash surrender value of whole life insurance (see the life insurance section below)
• Accessible retirement funds: If an IRA or 401(k) allows lump-sum withdrawal, the accessible cash value counts. If the account only pays required minimum distributions, those monthly payments count as income instead, and the principal is excluded

What's Exempt

These assets don't count toward the $9,950/$14,910 limit:

• Your home — fully excluded regardless of value or equity. The federal home equity cap ($752,000) applies only to Medicaid long-term care, not to MSP applications.
• One vehicle — exempt regardless of value, as long as it's used for transportation by the household
• Burial spaces — cemetery plots, mausoleum crypts for you or immediate family
• Dedicated burial funds — up to $1,500 per spouse, held in a separate bank account clearly designated for burial expenses
• Irrevocable prepaid funeral contracts — fully excluded
• Personal property and household goods — furniture, clothing, appliances

Life Insurance: The $1,500 Rule

Term life insurance with no cash value is always excluded.

Whole life insurance follows a two-step test. Add up the face value of every whole life policy you own. If the combined face value is $1,500 or less, the policies are fully excluded. If the combined face value exceeds $1,500, DHS counts the aggregate cash surrender value of all policies as a resource.

For example: two whole life policies with face values of $1,000 and $800 total $1,800. That's over $1,500, so DHS looks at the combined cash surrender value. If the surrender value is $2,200, that $2,200 counts toward your $9,950 asset limit.

Joint Bank Accounts with an Adult Child

If a parent shares a bank account with an adult child, Rhode Island presumes all funds in the account belong to the applicant unless the applicant provides bank records proving the child's ownership of specific deposits. This is a common issue when adult children add their name to a parent's account for convenience.

To avoid an inflated asset count, keep records showing which deposits belong to which person — pay stubs, direct deposit confirmations, or transfer records from the child's individual account.

No Estate Recovery for MSP Benefits

Rhode Island cannot place a lien on your home or pursue your estate to recover payments made for Medicare premiums, deductibles, or coinsurance under QMB or QI. This is a common source of fear that stops eligible people from applying — they confuse MSP with Medicaid long-term care, which does have estate recovery rules.

The distinction is clear under both federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1396p) and Rhode Island regulation (210-RICR-10-00-4). MSP-only benefits are fully exempt from estate recovery.

For a full asset evaluation walkthrough, including how to handle retirement accounts that sit on the edge, see the Rhode Island Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help & RIPAE Guide.

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