The financial rules track long-term-care Medicaid
PASSPORT financial eligibility uses the institutional Medicaid framework, including the 2026 $2,982 monthly Special Income Level for an individual and $2,000 single-applicant countable-resource limit. Married applicants may instead need the spousal-impoverishment analysis (ODM 2026 Medicaid Standards Help Sheet; OAC 5160-31-03).
The PASSPORT rule sets an individual monthly waiver-services cost limit of $14,700. That is a program cost limit in the rule, not a promise that every person will receive a particular number of home-care hours (OAC 5160-31-03).
PASSPORT basics: age 60 or older at enrollment, Ohio Medicaid eligibility, qualifying nursing-facility level of care, and a qualifying community setting are all part of the rule. The published individual monthly waiver-services cost limit is $14,700 (
OAC 5160-31-03).
The Ohio Home Care Waiver serves a different age group
The Ohio Home Care Waiver is ODM-administered and serves people from birth through age 59 with physical disabilities who meet the applicable nursing-facility-based level of care and would otherwise require institutionalization. It is a federal section 1915(c) waiver with a current approval period listed through June 30, 2031 (OAC 5160-46-02; Medicaid.gov Ohio waiver page).
ODM materials state that Ohio Home Care Waiver enrollees are disenrolled within 120 days of their 60th birthday and transition to PASSPORT if eligible. This makes age and program status particularly important during a transition year (ODM HCBS comparison document).
MyCare details need live confirmation
Historically, people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid who lived in a MyCare county were directed to MyCare rather than PASSPORT by a secondary planning source. Because Next Generation MyCare is expanding statewide in 2026, confirm current county and managed-care rules directly with Ohio's live program information (Medicaid Planning Assistance, PASSPORT overview; Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline).
For a different home-care access model, read Florida's home-care Medicaid page. For the broader eligibility framework, see Medicaid (Baseline).
Not mutually exclusive. Most families combine two or three funding pillars — this one rarely stands alone.
The
Journey Assessment ranks all ten pillars against your specific situation and
recommends the top three.
