Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: The District of Columbia’s Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid resource limit is $4,000 for one person, double the $2,000 federal default most states still use.
The figure, from DC’s own eligibility page
The DC Department of Health Care Finance’s “Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) Individuals” service page states plainly: “Have resources below $4000 for one person.” This ABD standard is the pathway that covers DC residents applying for nursing-facility Medicaid.
The medically-needy spend-down that runs alongside it
DHCF also operates a dedicated “Medically Needy Spend-Down” program page, stating that most Medicaid eligibility groups, with named exceptions such as childless adults and QMB beneficiaries, may use the spend-down process for excess income.
The one gap this page discloses rather than smooths over
DHCF’s ABD page does not itself use the words “nursing home” or “institutional”; the $4,000 figure is the District’s general ABD resource standard, which its own program structure applies to nursing-facility applicants, but this session did not find a DHCF document stating that connection in those exact words.
| Citation | DC Department of Health Care Finance, “Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) Individuals” service page |
| What it says | “Have resources below $4000 for one person.” |
This page covers the applicant’s own asset limit. The amount an at-home spouse gets to keep is a separate, usually much larger, figure: see the District of Columbia community spouse resource allowance and what happens to a spouse’s money when the other spouse needs a nursing home.
Every citation on this page was read directly from the state’s own Medicaid agency, administrative code, or official eligibility manual this session. General information, not legal or financial advice; a figure this specific can change with a budget cycle or a rule amendment, and a county or state caseworker has the final say on any individual application.