ALTCS Resources
Financial Eligibility & Asset Protection
Can You Qualify for ALTCS With $300,000, $500,000, $750,000 or $1 Million+ in Assets?
By Katie Brenneman, Founder of Stronghold Financial
Reviewed against current AHCCCS policy. Last reviewed September 17, 2026.
Direct answer
Yes. Having $300,000, $500,000, $750,000 or even more than $1 million does not automatically make ALTCS irrelevant. Published resource limits explain how AHCCCS evaluates eligibility on paper, but they do not necessarily tell a married couple how much must ultimately be spent or how much lawful, individualized planning may protect.
Why substantial assets can still be vulnerable to long-term care costs
A retirement plan that works under ordinary circumstances can change quickly when one spouse needs memory care, assisted living, skilled nursing or extensive care at home. At $8,000, $9,000 or more each month, several years of care can consume hundreds of thousands of dollars while the healthy spouse still needs income, housing and financial security for the rest of his or her life.
That is why the useful question is not simply, ‘Are we over the ALTCS asset limit?’ The better question is, ‘How do the current ALTCS rules apply to our assets, income, home, care needs and long-term goals?’
Published ALTCS limits are the starting point, not the entire planning answer
AHCCCS publishes income and resource standards that apply when it determines eligibility. Those standards matter, but a family’s balance sheet cannot be understood from one number. Marital status, ownership, asset type, income, prior transactions, care setting and timing may all affect the analysis.
For married couples, the community-spouse rules are especially important. The published Community Spouse Resource Deduction is not necessarily the maximum amount that may ultimately be preserved for the healthy spouse through lawful planning. Families should not assume they must privately spend everything above a published figure before ALTCS can become relevant.
What Stronghold reviews before recommending a plan
Stronghold Financial reviews the full picture: marital status; each spouse’s income; cash and investment accounts; retirement accounts; real estate; life insurance; annuities; trusts; prior gifts or transfers; current care costs; likely care setting; medical eligibility; and the family’s estate and legacy goals.
This is not cookie-cutter planning. The same net worth can produce very different results depending on what the family owns, how it is owned, who needs care and what has already occurred.
A real family with substantial assets
Sam and Yvonne’s experience shows why this issue is not theoretical. Yvonne was 61, living with dementia and otherwise physically healthy. The couple had $692,705 in countable assets. Stronghold helped Yvonne qualify for ALTCS and protected all $692,705 for Sam. Their historical post-ALTCS out-of-pocket memory-care cost was approximately $559 per month.
Four years later, Yvonne is still receiving memory care at a community where care now costs approximately $9,500 per month if not on ALTCS. Their result depended on their specific facts and should not be treated as a promise that every family will have the same outcome.
Do not spend or transfer assets blindly
Do not begin liquidating retirement accounts, selling a home, transferring property or paying large private-care bills simply to reach a number found online. Transfers can create penalties, sales can change the character of an excluded asset, and withdrawals can create tax and income consequences.
The five-year lookback is a transfer-review rule. It does not mean planning must begin five years before care is needed, and it does not mean a family in an active crisis is automatically too late. Earlier planning usually creates more choices, but crisis-stage planning can still protect substantial assets in the right circumstances.
What to do next
Before your family spends another six figures on care, find out what the current ALTCS rules mean for your specific situation. Schedule one complimentary 30-minute consultation with Stronghold Financial.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone with $1 million qualify for ALTCS?
Potentially. The answer depends on marital status, asset types, ownership, income, medical eligibility, prior transfers and available lawful planning options. Net worth alone does not answer the question.
Do we have to spend everything above the published resource limit?
Not necessarily. Published limits govern eligibility, but they do not by themselves establish how much a family must ultimately spend or how much individualized planning may protect.
Is it too late if care has already started?
No. Earlier planning is helpful, but families often still have meaningful options after a diagnosis, memory-care move, rehab discharge or other active long-term-care crisis.
Official sources
About this resource
Stronghold Financial has helped thousands of Arizona families understand long-term-care planning and ALTCS. This educational content is not individualized legal, tax or investment advice.
Source note: Stronghold reviewed the current AHCCCS guidance that applies to this topic as of the date above. Program rules and published figures can change. A family’s eligibility and planning options depend on its individual circumstances.