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Survey of Medicaid Eligibility Based on Disability or Age 65+ (non-MAGI eligibility)

Medicaid is an important source of health and long-term care coverage for people with disabilities and those who are ages 65 and older. The Medicaid pathways in which eligibility is based on old age or disability are known as “non-MAGI” pathways because they do not use the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) financial methodology that applies to pathways for pregnant people, parents, and children with low incomes. In addition to considering old age/disability status and income, many non-MAGI pathways also have asset limits. Since 2015, this survey has been conducted by KFF and Watts Health Policy Consulting. Not all years’ surveys are available because the survey was not administered in some years and in other years, KFF replaced earlier reports with the most recent data.

FY 2025

Medicaid Eligibility Levels for Older Adults and People with Disabilities (Non-MAGI) in 2025 (April 2025)

FY 2024

Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Policies for Seniors and People with Disabilities (Non-MAGI) During the Unwinding (June 2024)

What is Medicaid Estate Recovery? (September 2024)

What Are the Primary Medicaid Eligibility Pathways for Dual-Eligible Individuals? (October 2024)

FY 2022

Medicaid Financial Eligibility in Pathways Based on Old Age or Disability in 2022: Findings from a 50-State Survey (July 2022)

Medicaid Public Health Emergency Unwinding Policies Affecting Seniors & People with Disabilities: Findings from a 50-State Survey (July 2022)

FY 2018

Medicaid Financial Eligibility for Seniors and People with Disabilities: Findings from a 50-State Survey (June 2019)

Key State Policy Choices About Medical Frailty Determinations for Medicaid Expansion Adults (June 2019)

Implications of the Expiration of Medicaid Long-Term Care Spousal Impoverishment Rules for Community Integration (November 2019)

FY 2015

Medicaid Financial Eligibility for Seniors and People with Disabilities in 2015 (March 2016)

FY 2009

Medicaid Financial Eligibility: Primary Pathways for the Elderly and People with Disabilities (February 2010)

Surveys are organized by the year in which they were administered, which may not match the date of publication or the year of data reported. Some reports include data from more than one year. KFF also conducts a survey of Medicaid eligibility based on home- and community-based services programs.

View the Latest: Medicaid Eligibility Age 65+, Disability/NonMAGI

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1 - 10 of 12 Results

50-State Survey Archives: Medicaid HCBS and Eligibility Based on Disability or Age 65+

Apr 7, 2025
Report

This page holds an archive of KFF's regular surveys of states about their Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs and their eligibility policies for people who are eligible for Medicaid on the basis of having a disability or being ages 65 and older (the “non-MAGI” eligibility pathways).
Medicaid Eligibility Levels for Older Adults and People with Disabilities (Non-MAGI) in 2025

Apr 7, 2025
Issue Brief

KFF’s Survey of Medicaid Financial Eligibility for Older Adults & People with Disabilities, conducted in March 2025 by KFF and Watts Health Policy Consulting, provides a baseline of Medicaid eligibility as states return to normal operations after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of potential changes to the Medicaid program.
What Are the Primary Medicaid Eligibility Pathways for Dual-Eligible Individuals?

Oct 22, 2024
Issue Brief

This brief examines current Medicaid eligibility policies and enrollment patterns using data from KFF’s 2024 50-state survey of states’ eligibility and enrollment policies for seniors and people with disabilities, and 2021 Medicare and Medicaid claims data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
What is Medicaid Estate Recovery?

Sep 13, 2024
Issue Brief

Under estate recovery, state Medicaid programs are required to recover the costs of long-term care and related hospital and prescription drug services for enrollees ages 55 and older. KFF examines the wide variation in estate recovery practices across states as well as the criticisms of this policy, which have led to federal proposals to modify or reduce it.
States Adopted Changes to Expand Medicaid Eligibility and Streamline Renewal Processes That Will Continue Beyond the Unwinding, Though Challenges Remain

Jun 20, 2024
News Release

The unwinding of pandemic enrollment protections in Medicaid helped accelerate states’ expansion of eligibility for key groups and adoption of policy and system changes to streamline renewal processes for enrollees, according to findings from a new KFF survey of state Medicaid officials.
Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Policies for Seniors and People with Disabilities (Non-MAGI) During the Unwinding

Jun 20, 2024
Issue Brief

Eligibility policies for seniors and people with disabilities vary across states, but states made similarly wide-ranging changes to streamline renewal processes for these enrollees. KFF’s Survey of Medicaid Financial Eligibility & Enrollment Policies for Seniors & People with Disabilities was conducted in March 2024 by KFF and Watts Health Policy Consulting.
Medicaid Financial Eligibility in Pathways Based on Old Age or Disability in 2022: Findings from a 50-State Survey

Jul 11, 2022
Issue Brief

This issue brief presents state-level data on Medicaid financial eligibility criteria and adoption of the major non-MAGI pathways as of January 2022. The data were collected from March through May 2022 in KFF’s survey of Medicaid state eligibility officials.
Medicaid Public Health Emergency Unwinding Policies Affecting Seniors & People with Disabilities: Findings from a 50-State Survey

Jul 11, 2022
Issue Brief

This issue brief describes anticipated enrollment changes in pathways based on old age or disability (“non-MAGI”) after the PHE ends, state enrollment and renewal policies for non-MAGI groups as of January 1, 2022, and state plans for resuming normal operations when the PHE ends.
Two Medicaid-Related Initiatives That Help Promote Long-Term Care at Home and in the Community, Rather Than in Institutions, Are Set To Expire at the End of December

Nov 25, 2019
News Release

Two initiatives that for years have helped shift Medicaid enrollees away from nursing homes in favor of long-term care at home and in the community face year-end deadlines that could undercut that trend, according to two new KFF issue briefs.
Implications of the Expiration of Medicaid Long-Term Care Spousal Impoverishment Rules for Community Integration

Nov 25, 2019
Issue Brief

To financially qualify for Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS), an individual must have a low income and limited assets. In response to concerns that these rules could leave a spouse without adequate means of support when a married individual needs LTSS, Congress created the spousal impoverishment rules in 1988. Originally, these rules required states to protect a portion of a married couple’s income and assets to provide for the “community spouse’s” living expenses when determining nursing home financial eligibility, but gave states the option to apply the rules to home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers.
Section 2404 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed the spousal impoverishment rules to treat Medicaid HCBS and institutional care equally from January 2014 through December 2018. Congress subsequently extended Section 2404 through December 2019. This issue brief answers key questions about the spousal impoverishment rules, presents 50-state data from a 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation survey about state policies and future plans in this area, and considers the implications if Congress does not further extend Section 2404.

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Survey of Medicaid Eligibility Based on Disability or Age 65+ (non-MAGI eligibility)

View the Latest: Medicaid Eligibility Age 65+, Disability/NonMAGI

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