State Guide
Long-Term Care Funding in Texas
Texas runs Medicaid long-term care on the same hard income-cap model as Florida, recognizes the Lady Bird deed, and layers in its own STAR+PLUS home-care waiver and State Veterans Homes network. This is the Texas-specific detail behind each of the ten funding pillars.
Which stage are you in, in Texas?
Care Within 1-3 Years
See the Care Within 1-3 Years pillars →Planning Ahead
See the Planning Ahead pillars →
Decision Table
Situation, or profile — straight to Texas pages
Same six rows as the sitewide decision table, resolved to Texas-specific pages wherever one exists. Plain HTML — no script required to read it, by a person or an AI agent.
| Situation / Profile | Where to Look Next |
|---|---|
| Care Needed NowA hospital discharge is being planned, a facility decision is imminent, or home care has already started. | Texas Medicaid Look-Back Period · Texas VA Aid and Attendance |
| Care Within 1-3 YearsMemory changes, a recent fall, or a new diagnosis have made the timeline real, but care isn't needed today. | Texas VA Aid and Attendance · Texas Long-Term Care Planning |
| Planning AheadNo diagnosis, no crisis, no urgency — just the recognition that long-term care is a when, not an if, for most people eventually. | Texas Long-Term Care Insurance · Texas Long-Term Care Planning |
| Veteran (or surviving spouse) of wartime serviceAdds a federal pension benefit on top of whatever the Situation and State rows point to. | Texas VA Aid and Attendance |
| Owns significant home equityThe home is usually Medicaid-exempt during life but affects estate recovery and private-pay runway. | Texas Lady Bird Deed · Texas Medicaid Long-Term Care |
| Already has LTC insurance or a hybrid life/LTC policy in forceThe existing policy is usually the first dollar spent; other pillars become supplemental once benefits are exhausted or if a gap remains. | Texas Long-Term Care Insurance · Texas Medicaid Long-Term Care |
Why Texas runs differently
Texas is an income-cap state for institutional and waiver Medicaid. That means a person whose countable income is above the special income limit cannot use an income spend-down; a properly established and funded Qualified Income Trust, often called a Miller Trust, is the route HHSC describes for an otherwise eligible person with excess income (HHSC Appendix XXXVI).
Texas also delivers its core Medicaid long-term services and supports through STAR+PLUS managed care, with service coordination as a central feature. The program changes how covered Medicaid services are delivered, not the underlying eligibility or covered services (HHSC STAR+PLUS handbook).
Texas's 2026 numbers at a glance
Individual income cap: $2,982 per month — Individual resource limit: $2,000 — Community spouse resource allowance: $32,532 to $162,660 — Look-back period: 60 months — Transfer divisor: $262.37 per day. HHSC's published 2026 materials also list a $5,964 monthly couple income cap and an MMMNA allocation up to $4,066.50; confirm figures for the application month (HHSC Appendix XII; HHSC transfer-divisor policy).
What makes Texas genuinely different from other states
- A hard income cap and QIT requirement. Income above the cap is not solved by spending down income; HHSC requires a compliant irrevocable QIT for the applicable excess-income situation (HHSC QIT policy).
- Lady Bird deeds are available. Texas recognizes the enhanced life estate deed through case law and practice rather than a dedicated statute, a tool it shares with Florida (Texas State Law Library).
- Homestead questions require care. The confirmed MERP safeguard is an administrative hardship waiver for qualifying heirs, including a specific modest-homestead provision; do not treat Texas constitutional homestead protections as a verified categorical bar to post-death MERP recovery (1 TAC section 373.209).
- Home care has an access distinction. STAR+PLUS HCBS is capped and uses an interest list, while Community First Choice is a State Plan option; older 2022 wait-time figures should not be treated as a current forecast (HHSC STAR+PLUS HCBS eligibility policy; Texas Community First Choice amendment).
The ten Texas topics in this cluster
Each page focuses on Texas's published rules, court decisions, and program structure rather than assuming a generic Medicaid answer applies. Use the pages to frame questions for qualified Texas legal, benefits, tax, and insurance professionals.
For broader funding strategies beyond state rules, see The 10 Funding Pillars.
Texas Medicaid Long-Term Care
How Texas delivers long-term services and supports through STAR+PLUS, and why its income-cap rules make a Qualified Income Trust essential for some applicants.
Category: Program Overview
Texas Medicaid Asset Limits
Texas's 2026 $2,000 individual resource limit, $3,000 couple limit, income cap, Qualified Income Trust rule, and protections for a spouse at home.
Category: Eligibility
Texas Medicaid Look-Back Period
Texas's 60-month transfer review, the current $262.37 daily penalty divisor, and why timing a gift without legal advice can delay long-term-care Medicaid.
Category: Eligibility
Texas Lady Bird Deed
How Texas's enhanced life estate deed preserves the owner's control, avoids probate, and is shaped by Burt and Wright rather than a dedicated statute.
Category: Legal Tools
Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery
Texas's probate-only Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, its age-55 long-term-care scope, and the confirmed administrative hardship-waiver process for qualifying heirs.
Category: After Care
Texas Nursing Home Medicaid
Texas nursing-facility Medicaid eligibility, the $75 personal-needs allowance, co-payment calculation, and the 30-consecutive-day facility requirement.
Category: Institutional Care
Texas Home Care Medicaid
STAR+PLUS HCBS and Community First Choice: two Texas routes to in-home support with different eligibility and interest-list realities.
Category: Home & Community-Based Care
Texas Long-Term Care Planning
Texas planning priorities: income-cap compliance, Qualified Income Trust administration, transfer timing, home decisions, and probate-only estate recovery.
Category: Advance Planning
Texas VA Aid and Attendance
How VA Aid and Attendance fits with Texas Medicaid, Texas State Veterans Homes, and the disabled-veteran residence-homestead property-tax exemption.
Category: Veterans Benefits
Texas Long-Term Care Insurance (*)
Texas regulation of long-term-care insurance, the open Partnership Program's dollar-for-dollar Medicaid resource disregard, and the 30-day free-look protection. See more details for tax incentives →
Category: Insurance
Participates in the State Long-Term Care Partnership Program.
The Fastest Way to Know
Not sure which strategy fits?
Not sure which strategy fits?
Let the assessment tell you.
The Journey Assessment ranks the ten national funding pillars against your specific situation — then use the Texas-specific pages above to see exactly how each one plays out under Texas law.