Mississippi Long-Term Care Planning

Transfers and the home need separate work

DOM applies a five-year/60-month review of transferred assets and says a transfer penalty may cause Medicaid not to pay a nursing facility or an HCBS participant to lose Medicaid eligibility. The current 2026 divisor is $9,430 per month or $309 per day, so older examples from prior years should not be used for a current plan (DOM 2026 LTC guide; DOM Appendix A-2).

One home may be excluded unless equity exceeds $752,000, but that eligibility exclusion is distinct from a deed’s probate effect, a completed transfer, creditor rights, and possible estate recovery. Mississippi has a statutory TOD deed that leaves owner control intact during life; DOM’s located materials do not turn that statute into a blanket Medicaid-planning exemption (DOM 2026 LTC guide; Mississippi TOD-deed statute).

A Mississippi-specific family-support caution

Mississippi Code §43-31-25 allows a county board of supervisors to direct a listed parent, grandparent, sibling, or descendant to relieve and maintain a pauper unable to work. The statute states a $150-per-month county consequence for a relative who refuses and limited governmental-necessaries liability; it also places the duty in a poor-person and county-board framework (Mississippi Code §43-31-25).

This is not a general DOM rule that adult children automatically pay nursing-home bills. It is nevertheless an unusual state-law consideration when an indigency, county-support, or family-care issue is present. Families should have Mississippi counsel assess the statute’s current application rather than rely on a national “filial responsibility” list.

Married applicants also need a written resource assessment. DOM says the community spouse may retain up to $162,660 in combined countable resources in 2026, while the applicant’s share is up to $4,000; the current maximum maintenance needs allowance is $4,066.50 per month (DOM 2026 LTC guide; DOM Appendix A-2).