Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Wisconsin is frequently described in secondary Medicaid-planning material as a medically-needy spend-down state; its own current Eligibility Handbook shows nursing-home Medicaid actually runs on a plain 300%-of-SSI income cap, $2,982 a month for one person, effective 2026. The much lower $1,330 figure often cited for Wisconsin applies to a separate, non-institutional coverage group, not to the nursing-facility category itself.
Two real Wisconsin numbers, two different groups
Wisconsin’s Economic Support Eligibility Handbook lists, for “Institutions Categorically Needy: $2,982.00,” effective 1/1/2026, the operative figure for a single nursing-home applicant. The same handbook section separately lists “SSI-Related Medically Needy, Group Size 1: $1,330.00,” effective 2/1/2026, for a different coverage group entirely.
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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Why the mix-up happens
Both figures live in the same handbook chapter and both relate to SSI-linked Wisconsin Medicaid eligibility, which likely explains why the lower, medically-needy-sounding $1,330 number gets attached to nursing-home Medicaid in some secondary write-ups. Wisconsin’s own current handbook keeps them as two distinct figures for two distinct groups; a single applicant seeking nursing-facility coverage is measured against the $2,982 categorically-needy figure, not the $1,330 one.
| Citation | Wisconsin Economic Support Eligibility Handbook, section 39.4, Medicaid financial eligibility standards |
| What it says | “Institutions Categorically Needy: $2,982.00 (effective 1/1/2026) … SSI-Related Medically Needy, Group Size 1: $1,330.00 (effective 2/1/2026)” |
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 Wisconsin’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.