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Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual Eligibility Factors

Reissued June 9, 2026

Page 3 of I-1630 Replacing September 23, 2024

Revised/added text indicated by underscore

Deleted text indicated by “**” behalf of an applicant/beneficiary. These resources are treated as though the applicant/beneficiary were controlling and managing them.

Consider the resource available to the applicant/beneficiary regardless of:

• Power of attorney,

• Interdiction,

• Need for interdiction, or

• The fact that a succession has not been opened or settled.

Equity value is the amount for which the resource can be expected to sell on the open market in the particular geographic area (fair market value) less legal encumbrances to the resource.

To establish equity, the encumbrance must be recognized as legally binding on the holder of the resources.

The inability to find a buyer for the resource does not affect the determination of countable value.

An encumbrance may also exist when the applicant/beneficiary has written a check and legally obligated funds from a bank account. Refer to Bank Accounts.

I-1634 TYPES OF RESOURCES (SSI-Related)

 Louisiana Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account

Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account is a tax- advantaged savings account that enables individuals with disabilities to save money which can later be used to pay for qualified disability expenses (QDE).

Do not count funds in an ABLE account as a resource.

Note: SSI counts as a resource the amount of an ABLE account that is over $100,000. If the countable amount of the ABLE account causes the individual to have resources that exceed the SSI