Benefits for seniors in Kentucky

Medicaid for people 65 and over

Kentucky Medicaid covers people who are aged (65 or older), blind or disabled and have low income and few assets. DCBS decides who qualifies.

• If you get SSI or State Supplementation: You usually get Medicaid too.
• Assets: Up to $2,000 for one person, or $4,000 for a couple. Your home and car usually do not count. A burial fund of up to $1,500 per person is not counted.
• Spend-down: If your income is too high, you may still get Medicaid for a limited time once your medical bills bring your income down. Kentucky lets you keep $235 a month for one person, or $291 for two. Eligibility is checked every three months.
• What it covers: Doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions and more. With Medicare, it helps with costs Medicare does not pay.

Nursing home care. Medicaid can pay for a nursing home if you need that level of care. The income limit is 300% of the SSI federal payment ($994 a month). If your income is higher, you may still qualify by using a Qualifying Income Trust. The asset limit is $2,000 for one person. In a nursing home you keep $60 a month for personal needs. If you are married, your spouse at home can keep part of your shared assets; DCBS works out the amount. Medicaid also looks at gifts and transfers of assets, and they can delay your coverage.

Estate recovery: After you die, Kentucky can claim money from your estate for long-term care Medicaid paid after age 55. It does not do this if you leave a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. Heirs can ask for a hardship waiver.

Help paying Medicare costs

Kentucky Medicaid runs the Medicare Savings Programs. You must have Medicare Part A.

• QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles and coinsurance. Income below 100% of the poverty level, about $1,350 a month for one person or $1,824 for a couple.
• SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Part B premium. Income below 120% of the poverty level, about $1,616 a month for one person or $2,184 for a couple.
• QI-1 (Qualifying Individual): Pays your Part B premium. Income below 135% of the poverty level, about $1,816 a month for one person or $2,455 for a couple.

Kentucky uses the federal limits. Its own chart shows amounts $20 lower, because the first $20 of income is not counted.

Assets: Up to $9,950 for one person or $14,910 for a couple. Your home, your car and up to $1,500 set aside for burial do not count.

If you get QMB, SLMB or QI-1, you get Extra Help with Part D drug costs automatically. You still need a Medicare drug plan.

To apply, call DCBS at 855-306-8959 or send form MAP-205 to your local DCBS office.

Prescription drug help

Kentucky does not have a state program that pays part of your drug costs. The main help is federal Extra Help. It can lower your Part D premium, deductible and copays.

The Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program (KPAP) can help you find free or low-cost medicines from drug company programs. Call the KPAP Hotline at 1-800-633-8100, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. SHIP counselors also work with KPAP.

Extra state payment with SSI

Kentucky does not add money to the SSI check of people who simply live on their own. If you live alone without paid care, your SSI payment is the federal amount, up to $994 a month.

Kentucky's State Supplementation program, run by DCBS, helps people 65 and over (or blind or disabled) who need care. The payment is the "standard" below minus your countable income:

• Personal care home: $1,610 a month.
• Family care home: $1,166 a month.
• Caretaker services at home: $1,056 a month for one person. This is for people who live in their own home and pay for regular help, such as housekeeping or meals, that keeps them out of a nursing home. A spouse, parent or adult child who lives with you cannot be the paid caretaker.

People who get State Supplementation get Medicaid automatically. Apply at your DCBS office.

Food help

Kentucky's food program is SNAP, run by DCBS.

• Assets: A household with someone 60 or older can have more savings than other households. Check the current limit with DCBS. Your home, belongings and vehicles do not count.
• Medical costs: If someone in your home is 60 or older or disabled, medical costs you pay can be subtracted from your income. Keep your receipts.
• Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP): For elderly or disabled households with no earned income. You get benefits for 36 months, no interview at renewal, and a standard medical deduction if you have medical costs. DCBS checks you for ESAP when you apply for SNAP.

Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. If you are 60 or older with income at or below 185% of the poverty level, you may get checks for fresh local fruits and vegetables at approved farmers' markets. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture runs it. Ask your Area Agency on Aging how to sign up.

Your Area Agency on Aging can also find group meal sites and home-delivered meals.

Help staying at home

Home and Community Based (HCB) waiver. This Medicaid program helps people stay at home instead of a nursing home. Services include adult day health care, attendant care, home changes, home-delivered meals and respite for caregivers. You can hire your own workers if you wish.

• Who qualifies: You are 65 or older or have a physical disability, need nursing home level of care, and qualify for Medicaid.
• How to start: First apply for Medicaid through kynect or DCBS. Then apply for HCB through kynect, an Aging and Disability Resource Center, or a Community Mental Health Center.
• Wait list: There is a waiting list. Your place is based on the date DAIL gets your completed application. Questions: 877-315-0589.

PACE. If you are 55 or older, need nursing home level of care, and live in a PACE service area, PACE can provide all your care through one team. Kentucky has PACE in parts of the state, including the Lexington, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Paducah and eastern Kentucky areas. Call DAIL at 888-804-0884 to find out if PACE serves your county.

Property tax and housing help

• Homestead exemption: If you are 65 or older, or totally disabled, and own and live in your home, part of its assessed value is not taxed. For 2025 and 2026, the exemption is up to $49,100. The amount is reset every two years for inflation.
• How to apply: Send the "Application for Exemption Under the Homestead/Disability Amendment" to your county Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) by December 31 of the tax year.

Kentucky's state sites do not list a property tax freeze, deferral or renter rebate for seniors.

Help with energy bills

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) helps pay heating bills. You apply at your local Community Action Agency.

• Subsidy: Helps pay heating costs in the late fall. For 2026, the state plan sets it for November 3 to December 14.
• Crisis: For households about to lose heat or with four or fewer days of fuel. For the coming winter, the plan runs from January 6 to March 26, 2027, or until money runs out.
• Seniors: Adults 60 and older on a fixed income may pre-register for heating help. Ask your Community Action Agency.
• Cooling: Summer help may be offered when funds allow.
• Questions: Call 800-456-3452.

Free help and counseling

• SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): Free Medicare counseling in all 120 counties, run by the Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL). Counselors help you compare coverage, apply for savings programs and fix billing problems. They do not sell insurance. Call 1-877-293-7447 and press 2, or call DAIL at 502-564-6930 and ask for a SHIP counselor.
• Area Agencies on Aging and Independent Living (AAAILs): Kentucky has 15. They give information on benefits, meals and in-home help, and many run Aging and Disability Resource Centers. Find yours by county on the DAIL website at chfs.ky.gov.
• Department for Aging and Independent Living: 502-564-6930.

How to apply

Check what you may qualify for