Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Maryland’s Medicaid manual sets the individual resource amount for an institutionalized Medicaid applicant at $2,500, above the $2,000 federal default. The manual section quoted below is dated 2014, but the manual’s 2026 appendix schedules (Schedule MA-2, Medically Needy Resource Standards, Non-MAGI) also list $2,500 for a one-person assistance unit, alongside the $2,000 categorically needy standard dated 1/1/1989.
The figure, and the document it comes from
The Maryland Medicaid Manual, Section 1000 (“Eligibility for Institutionalized Persons”), finalized May 15, 2014, states: “This amount prevents the institutional spouse from exceeding the allowable $2500 resource amount.” That sentence appears in a sample notice about excess resources protected for the community spouse. The manual separately says that resources above the $2000 SSI resource standard but “within the $2500 MA medically needy resource standard” can be certified as long-term-care medically needy, and its 2026 Schedule MA-2 lists $2,500 for one person.
Why this page discloses the document’s age up front
A 2014 manual section is twelve years old as of this page’s publication. The manual’s 2026 appendix schedules restate the $2,500 figure, so it has been reconfirmed against a newer official document; a reader relying on this number for an active application should confirm it directly with Maryland Medicaid before treating it as final.
The spend-down pathway named in the same manual
The same Section 1000 describes an “Available Income Greater than Cost of Care” determination and a spend-down eligibility pathway, confirming Maryland runs a medically-needy-style mechanism for applicants over the income limit.
Figures verified against the Maryland Medical Assistance Manual Section 1000 (2014) and the manual’s 2026 appendix schedules (Schedules MA-2 and MA-2A) on September 30, 2026.
| Citation | Maryland Medicaid Manual, Section 1000 – Eligibility for Institutionalized Persons (finalized May 15, 2014) |
| What it says | “This amount prevents the institutional spouse from exceeding the allowable $2500 resource amount.” |
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 Maryland 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.