The Medicaid financial eligibility rules differ in some important and favorable ways for married couples. When a spouse, who is usually called ““institutionalized spouse””, requires Medicaid to pay for nursing facility care, the law provides substantial financial protection for the other spouse, who remains at home, and is often referred to as ““community spouse". These special rules, called "spousal impoverishment prevention" provisions, were intended by Congress to prevent the impoverishment of spouses of frail or ill individuals who require institutional long term care. Most notably, a couple’s assets generally DO NOT need to be spent down to the $2,000.00 level applicable to single applicants. Rather, the community spouse is entitled to a minimum community spouse asset allowance of $99,540 in 2006. In Illinois community spouses may actually refuse to disclose their separate assets without affecting the eligibility of the nursing home resident Medicaid applicant. In some instances a community spouse may be able to obtain a court order increasing the community spouse asset allowance. Additionally there are other planning technique available to protect the community spouse.

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