Benefits for seniors in Washington

Medicaid for people 65 and over

The Health Care Authority (HCA) runs Washington Apple Health. The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) handles long-term care.

• Income: For full coverage, income is at or below $994 a month for one person, or $1,491 for a couple. This is the same as the federal SSI payment.
• Savings and other assets: $2,000 for one person, or $3,000 for a couple.
• A little over the income limit? The medically needy program lets you "spend down." You pick a 3-month or 6-month period. Income above the medically needy limit in those months is added up. Once your medical bills (including Medicare premiums) reach that amount, Apple Health covers the rest of the period.
• What it covers: Doctor visits, hospital care, medicine, and help paying Medicare costs.

Long-term care Medicaid. Apple Health long-term services and supports (LTSS) pay for care at home, in adult family homes, assisted living, or a nursing home. The income limit is $2,982 a month for one person. In a nursing home you keep $108.74 a month for personal needs. A spouse who stays at home can keep at least $72,529 in assets (up to $162,660 in some cases), and may get up to $4,066.50 a month. If your home equity is over $1,130,000, you may not qualify.

Estate recovery. After your death, the state may seek repayment from your estate for long-term care paid after age 55. It waits while a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child survives. Medicare Savings Program costs, and medical care without long-term care, are not recovered. Questions: Office of Financial Recovery, 800-562-6114.

Help paying Medicare costs

Washington's Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) have income limits above the federal minimum, and there is no asset test. The limits below already include the first $20 of income that is not counted.

• QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): Pays Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles and copays. Income up to $1,483 a month for one person, or $2,004 for a couple.
• SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary): Pays the Part B premium. Income up to $1,616 a month for one person, or $2,185 for a couple.
• QI-1 (Qualifying Individual): Pays the Part B premium. Income up to $1,855 a month for one person, or $2,510 for a couple.
• QDWI: Pays the Part A premium for some working people with disabilities.

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

Washington has no separate state drug program for seniors. The main help is the federal Extra Help program. It lowers your Part D premium and copays if your income is below 150% of the federal poverty level, about $23,940 a year for one person in 2026. With Apple Health or an MSP, you get it without applying. To apply on your own, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Extra state payment with SSI

Washington pays a small State Supplemental Payment (SSP) to some SSI recipients. If you get SSI and are 65 or older or blind, or have a spouse who does not get SSI, you get $33 a month. You do not apply separately. DSHS pays it on its own, by check or direct deposit, apart from your federal SSI of up to $994. If you are married and both of you are 65 or older, each of you gets a payment. People in a medical institution get a different amount.

Food help

SNAP is called Basic Food in Washington. DSHS runs it.

• Easier income rules: If someone in your home is 60 or older or has a disability, there is no gross income test. Only income after deductions is checked. Your full housing costs can be counted, with no cap.
• Medical costs: Out-of-pocket medical costs over $35 a month for an older or disabled member can be deducted.
• WASHCAP: If you get SSI, live alone (or buy and cook food separately), and have no job income, you may get food benefits through the Washington Combined Application Project. It often starts automatically from your SSI record and lasts 36 months.
• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program: People 60 and older (Native Americans 55 and older) with income below 185% of the poverty level can get a card for fresh produce, June 1 to October 31. Apply each year through your Area Agency on Aging.
• How to apply: Online at washingtonconnection.org, by phone at 877-501-2233, or at a DSHS Community Services Office (dshs.wa.gov/office-locations).

Help staying at home

Call Community Living Connections at 1-855-567-0252 (waclc.org) to learn your options, including senior meals. The main programs are:

• Community First Choice and Medicaid Personal Care: Pay for help with bathing, dressing and other daily care at home. You can choose your caregiver, including a family member DSHS can pay.
• COPES: A Medicaid waiver for people 65 and over (or adults with disabilities) who need nursing-home-level care but choose to live at home, in an adult family home or in assisted living. It adds services on top of Community First Choice.
• Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC): For people 55 and over with an unpaid family caregiver. It gives the caregiver training, respite and equipment.
• Tailored Supports for Older Adults (TSOA): For people 55 and over who need some help and have more savings than Apple Health allows, up to $84,354 for one person. No estate recovery.
• PACE: For people 55 and over in parts of King, Pierce, Snohomish and Spokane counties.

Property tax and housing help

Your county assessor runs these programs. Each county sets its own income limits, posted at dor.wa.gov.

• Property tax exemption: You must be 61 or older by December 31 of the year before taxes are due, or retired because of a disability, or a qualifying disabled veteran. You must own and live in the home. All levels remove the state school levy and voter-approved levies. Lower incomes also get part of the home's value exempt from regular levies: at least $50,000 or $60,000 for taxes due in 2026. A 2026 law raises this to at least $70,000 or $80,000 for taxes due in 2027, and raises the county income limits. Renew at least every six years.
• Senior deferral: If you are 60 or older, or retired because of a disability, you can put off paying property taxes. Interest of 5% a year is added, and the taxes are repaid when the home is sold or you die. Renew each year.
• Limited income deferral: Any age. If household income is $57,000 or less and you have owned the home five years, you can defer the October half of your taxes. Apply by September 1.
• Surviving spouse: A surviving spouse or domestic partner 57 or older may keep the exemption or deferral.

Help with energy bills

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is run by the Department of Commerce through local agencies.

• Who qualifies: Household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. You can get help once per program year (October 1 to September 30). The grant usually goes to your utility.
• How to apply: Find your county's agency on the LIHEAP map at commerce.wa.gov and make an appointment. Commerce does not take applications. Questions: 360-725-2857.
• State Home Energy Assistance Program (SHEAP): A state program for households up to 80% of area median income. It helps with bills and unsafe heating systems.
• Watch for fraud: LIHEAP will never ask for your bank account or routing number.

Free help and counseling

• SHIBA: Washington's free Medicare counseling program (SHIP), run by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Call 800-562-6900, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Community Living Connections: Washington's link to Area Agencies on Aging. Call 1-855-567-0252 or visit waclc.org.
• DSHS Home and Community Living Administration: Runs long-term care and in-home services at dshs.wa.gov/altsa.

How to apply

Phone numbers: Free help lines for Washington agencies

Check what you may qualify for