Mississippi Nursing Home Medicaid

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: Mississippi

Nursing-facility Medicaid is the institutional route

Mississippi DOM’s 2026 long-term-care guide describes eligibility for an aged, blind, or disabled person who is a long-term-care patient in a Medicaid-accepting nursing facility or hospital. The person must meet the state’s nonfinancial requirements, medical certification, income and resource rules; for a nursing-facility or hospital setting, long-term care generally means a stay of 31 consecutive days or longer (DOM 2026 nursing-facility and HCBS guide; DOM eligibility page).

The 2026 institutional income cap is $2,982 per month before deductions and the individual resource limit is $4,000. A person whose income is over the cap may be able to qualify through an Income Trust if the DOM rules are satisfied; DOM says a nursing-facility resident cannot use that route if monthly income exceeds the facility’s private-pay rate for a 31-day month (DOM 2026 nursing-facility and HCBS guide).

The personal-needs allowance and patient liability

DOM’s 2026 guide states a $44 monthly personal-needs allowance for a nursing-facility beneficiary. It also states that veterans and surviving spouses receiving a $90 VA pension receive a $90 personal-needs allowance. The allowance is a defined deduction in the patient-liability framework, not a separate cash benefit that changes basic income eligibility (DOM 2026 nursing-facility and HCBS guide).

Other allowable deductions can be case-specific. DOM’s current institutional chart identifies a 2026 maximum community-spouse monthly maintenance needs allowance of $4,066.50, but an actual allocation depends on the married couple’s income and resources. A facility or family should use the written eligibility budget rather than subtracting general allowances from income on its own (DOM Appendix A-2).

Clinical review: PAS and PASRR

DOM calls its clinical entry process Long Term Care Pre-Admission Screening. DOM says a health professional must complete a Pre-Admission Screening Application for an eligible beneficiary to enter the listed long-term-care programs, except hospice and ICF/IID; a score of 50 or above is required to be considered for entry (DOM long-term-care overview).

Mississippi’s institutional code separately addresses PASRR. It requires a PASRR Level I to determine clinical eligibility for people seeking admission to a DOM-certified nursing facility, subject to stated exclusions. PAS/PASRR is not a substitute for financial eligibility: both the clinical process and the Medicaid financial determination must be satisfied (Mississippi Administrative Code, Part 207).

2026 nursing-facility figures: $2,982 monthly income cap · $4,000 resources · $44 personal-needs allowance · PAS score of 50 or above for consideration (DOM 2026 LTC guide; DOM long-term-care overview).

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Nursing-facility Medicaid is the institutional route

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