Caring for a spouse is different from caring for a parent, financially and otherwise. Ohio Medicaid has specific protections for the spouse who stays at home.
Short answer
Options that keep a couple together, and the spousal protections Ohio Medicaid provides.
What to do, in order
- Understand the spousal protections. Ohio Medicaid has a Community Spouse Resource Allowance so the spouse at home is not impoverished, ranging from about $31,267 to $148,620 in 2025, plus a separate Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance. Confirm current figures with Ohio Medicaid or an elder law attorney.
- Look at communities that keep couples together. Several Cleveland-area campuses offer more than one level of care on one site, so a couple can remain close even when needs diverge. Ask specifically how couples are handled and what a second-person fee covers.
- Be honest about your own health. Spousal caregivers routinely under-report their own decline. The plan needs to survive you being unwell for a fortnight.
- Get an objective assessment. The Area Agency on Aging serving your county can assess both of you at no cost, which is more useful than either of you assessing the other.
