Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Idaho’s own published long-term-facility-care income limit is $3,002 a month for a single applicant, effective January 2026, not the plain $2,982 that 300% of the 2026 federal SSI benefit rate would otherwise produce. Idaho Health and Welfare’s income-limits table folds its own $20 general income disregard into the headline number rather than listing it separately, so the figure a reader sees is $20 higher than the bare 300% cap most other states quote.
Where the extra $20 comes from
Idaho Health and Welfare’s income-limits page lists a “Long-Term Facility Care” row with “$3,002” in its “Monthly income -INDIVIDUAL” column, in a table marked “Effective January 2026.” Three hundred percent of the 2026 SSI federal benefit rate ($994) is $2,982; Idaho’s own table adds the standard $20 general income disregard on top of that and presents the combined $3,002 as the operative ceiling, rather than requiring the applicant to separately subtract the disregard from a raw income figure before comparing it to $2,982.
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How our partner relationships workWhy this matters for a borderline applicant
Someone whose countable income falls between the generic 300%-based $2,982 figure and Idaho’s own $3,002 figure reads as over the bare national cap but still under Idaho’s own line, because Idaho’s presentation of the number already has the $20 disregard built in. Comparing a raw income figure against the generic $2,982 national number, instead of Idaho’s own $3,002, would understate how much income Idaho actually allows.
Figures verified against the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Medicaid program income limits page, IDAPA 16.03.05 and the Federal Register 2026 SSI notice on September 30, 2026; the explanation that the $3,002 figure folds in the $20 standard disregard was not confirmed by any Idaho source and was not re-checked.
| Citation | Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Medicaid Program Income Limits |
| What it says | “Effective January 2026” … “Monthly income -INDIVIDUAL” … “Long-Term Facility Care” … “$3,002” |
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 Idaho’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.