Caring for a spouse is different from caring for a parent, financially and otherwise. Texas Medicaid has specific protections for the spouse who stays at home.
Short answer
Options that keep a couple together, and the spousal protections Texas Medicaid provides.
What to do, in order
- Understand the spousal protections. Texas Medicaid has a Community Spouse Resource Allowance so the spouse at home is not impoverished, reported at $162,660 for 2026, plus a separate monthly income allowance. Confirm current figures with HHSC or an elder law attorney.
- Look at communities that keep couples together. Several Austin-area campuses offer different care levels 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 Capital Area ADRC at 855-937-2372 can assess both of you at no cost, which is more useful than either of you assessing the other.
