Benefits for seniors in Louisiana

Medicaid for people 65 and over

LDH runs Medicaid for people who are aged (65 and over), blind, or disabled.

• If you get SSI: You get Medicaid. Social Security decides this, so you do not need a separate Medicaid application.
• If your income is too high: Louisiana has a Medically Needy program. Your medical bills are subtracted from your income (a "spend-down") until what is left is at or below a very low monthly standard: $100 for one person in East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, or $92 in all other parishes.
• Savings and other assets: For most aged, blind and disabled programs, including Medically Needy and long-term care, the limit is $2,000 for one person or $3,000 for a couple.

Long-term care Medicaid. Medicaid can pay for nursing home care and for care at home through waiver programs. The income limit is $2,982 a month for one person, or $5,964 for a couple. The asset limits above apply. A spouse who stays at home can keep up to $162,660 in countable assets, and may get part of your income so their own income reaches up to $4,066.50 a month. In a nursing home, you keep a small monthly allowance for personal needs. For nursing home admission, call Louisiana Options in Long Term Care at 1-877-456-1146.

Estate recovery. If Medicaid paid for long-term care or home and community services after age 55, LDH may seek repayment from your estate after death. It waits while your spouse is alive. It does not recover if you leave a child under 21 or a child who is blind or disabled. Heirs with low income, or in some hardship cases, can ask for a waiver.

Help paying Medicare costs

Louisiana has the standard Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs). You must have Medicare Part A. Louisiana uses the federal income limits (LDH's chart is about $20 lower because the $20 that is not counted is already taken off).

• QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Medicare premiums, and in most cases your deductibles and copays. Income up to 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 up to about $1,616 a month for one person, or $2,184 for a couple.
• QI (Qualifying Individual): Pays your Part B premium. Income up to about $1,816 a month for one person, or $2,455 for a couple.

Asset test: None. Louisiana does not count savings or other assets for QMB, SLMB or QI.

Some income is not counted, so apply even if you are a little over. If you get any MSP, you also get Extra Help with drug costs automatically.

Prescription drug help

• Extra Help: The main help for people on Medicare is the federal Extra Help program. It lowers your Part D premium and copays. Income must be below 150% of the poverty level, about $23,940 a year for one person in 2026. Medicaid or an MSP gives it to you automatically.
• SenioRx: A state-funded program run by the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs through its regional Aging and Disability Resource Centers. Staff help you apply to drug company assistance programs for medicines your plan does not cover, and help with Part D enrollment. Call (225) 342-7100 or your parish Council on Aging.

Extra state payment with SSI

Louisiana does not add a state payment to SSI for people living in their own home. Its small state supplement, which the state pays itself, goes only to people living in a Medicaid nursing facility. If you live at home, your SSI is the federal amount, up to $994 a month for one person.

Food help

SNAP is now run by the Louisiana Department of Health.

• Rules for older adults: If someone in your home is 60 or older or disabled, you only have to pass the net income test, not the gross income test. Your household can have up to $4,750 in countable resources, instead of $3,000. Households with an SSI recipient have no resource limit.
• Medical costs: A standard medical deduction of $161 is allowed for older or disabled members with medical bills. If your proven costs are higher, the actual amount is used. There is also no cap on the shelter deduction for your household.
• Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP): If you are 60 or older or disabled and have no job earnings, you can use a shorter application. You are approved for 36 months at a time, and you usually do not need another interview at renewal.
• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program: If you are 60 or older and your household income is no more than $2,461 a month for one person, you can get $30 on a card for fresh produce from approved farmers markets and roadside stands. People on SNAP, SSI, Medicaid or USDA Food for Seniors pre-qualify but must still apply. You must apply each year. Applications for 2027 open in February 2027.

Help staying at home

• Community Choices Waiver: For people 21 and over who qualify for long-term care Medicaid and need nursing home level care. It can pay for personal care help, adult day health care, home changes such as ramps, medical supplies, emergency response systems, up to two home-delivered meals a day, nursing, and respite for family caregivers. It does not give 24-hour care. Offers are made first-come, first-served, but some groups go first, such as people referred by adult protective services, people with ALS, and people leaving a nursing home where Medicaid pays.
• Long-Term Personal Care Services (LT-PCS): Medicaid help with bathing, dressing, eating and other daily tasks. It may also include light housekeeping, meals and shopping. You must have Medicaid and qualify for nursing home care.
• PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly): For people 55 and over who need nursing home level care and can live safely at home. It is offered in parts of the New Orleans area and the Lafayette area, East and West Baton Rouge parishes, and Avoyelles and Rapides parishes. If you have Medicaid, you pay nothing for PACE services.
• Where to start: Call Louisiana Options in Long Term Care at 1-877-456-1146 (TTY 1-855-296-0226), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Property tax and housing help

Apply at your parish assessor's office.

• Homestead exemption: If you own and live in your home, the first $7,500 of its assessed value is exempt from state, parish and special property taxes.
• Special assessment level (age 65 freeze): If you are 65 or older and have the homestead exemption, the assessed value of your home can be frozen at the level of the first year you qualify. Your adjusted gross income must be under a limit that is adjusted each year for inflation. Check the current limit with your parish assessor. A proposed constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot would raise this limit starting in 2027. Your tax rate can still change. The freeze stays as long as you, or a qualifying surviving spouse, own the home. It ends when the home is sold.

Help with energy bills

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps pay heating and cooling bills. It also offers crisis help, and can repair or replace heating and cooling equipment.

• Who runs it: The Louisiana Housing Corporation, through local agencies in each parish.
• Income limit: For 2026, up to $30,618 a year for one person, or $40,039 for two people.
• When: Heating help runs December 15 to March 31. Cooling help runs April 13 to September 30. Crisis help is available all year. Help ends when funds run out.
• How to apply: Find your parish agency in the LIHEAP Provider Directory at lhc.la.gov/energy-assistance, or call the Louisiana Housing Corporation at 225-763-8700.

Free help and counseling

• LaSHIP (Louisiana Senior Health Information Program): Free, unbiased help understanding Medicare, Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help. Run by the Louisiana Department of Insurance. Call 1-800-259-5300 or (225) 342-5301.
• Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA): The state aging office. It works with 64 parish Councils on Aging, which offer group and home-delivered meals, and runs Aging and Disability Resource Centers (adrcla.org). Call (225) 342-7100.

How to apply

Check what you may qualify for