Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Delaware’s long-term-care Medicaid income limit is $2,485 a month for a single applicant, effective 2026, and it is not the 300%-of-SSI figure nearly every other income-cap state uses. Delaware Health and Social Services’ own income-limits table sets it at 250% of the SSI standard: “250% Individual $2,485.” A page or advisor quoting the generic $2,982 national figure for Delaware is quoting the wrong state’s math.
250%, not 300%
DHSS’s own long-term-care Medicaid page states it directly: “If the applicant’s gross monthly income exceeds the income limit for this program (set at 250% of the Supplemental Security Income – SSI – standard), they will need to establish a Miller Trust in order to qualify.” Every other income-cap state in this family that this session confirmed runs the 300% version; Delaware’s 250% multiplier produces a lower ceiling than the commonly repeated $2,901/$2,982 figure, not a higher one.
One limit is not the whole picture
An eligibility figure tells you where a line sits, not what to do about it, and an adviser can weigh income, savings and a spouse’s needs together before anything is moved.
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What happens above $2,485
Delaware’s own guidance ties the consequence directly to the number: exceeding the $2,485 figure means the applicant needs a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) to qualify, the same cure used in other income-cap states, just triggered at a lower dollar threshold here.
| Citation | Delaware Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid & Medical Assistance, 2026 SSI Income Standard table and Long-Term Care Medicaid Programs page |
| What it says | “250% Individual $2,485 … If the applicant’s gross monthly income exceeds the income limit for this program (set at 250% of the Supplemental Security Income – SSI – standard), they will need to establish a Miller Trust in order to qualify.” |
This page covers the income eligibility figure itself. How a state handles income above that figure (a Qualified Income Trust, a medically needy spend-down, or something else) is covered on Delaware’s excess income mechanism page.
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.