Ohio's home and community-based Medicaid waivers (the Assisted Living Waiver, PASSPORT and MyCare Ohio) and traditional nursing home Medicaid use the same non-MAGI, aged/blind/disabled financial eligibility pathway, with the same income and asset limits. The difference is where the care happens: waivers keep someone in an RCF or at home; nursing home Medicaid pays for care inside a licensed nursing facility.
The eligibility test is the same
Both pathways require meeting Ohio's $2,901 per month (300 percent of the SSI federal benefit rate, the 'special income level' Ohio uses for nursing facility and waiver eligibility) income limit and the $2,000 asset limit for a single applicant, along with a Nursing Facility Level of Care determination. Clearing this test qualifies someone for the financial side of either pathway; which one they actually use depends on where they live and what waiver capacity is available.
Where they diverge
- Nursing home Medicaid pays the facility directly for room, board and care once the resident has spent down to the asset limit and is admitted to a Medicaid-certified nursing facility bed.
- The Assisted Living Waiver pays only for care services inside an RCF; the resident pays room and board directly, capped at the SSI federal benefit rate minus a $50 personal needs allowance.
- PASSPORT and MyCare Ohio support staying at home and do not pay for room and board anywhere.
