Which states have increased MSP income limits in the last five years and by how much?
Executive summary
The supplied reporting documents state-by-state changes in Medicaid income eligibility and recent adjustments to long‑term care caps tied to federal benefit updates, but it does not provide a clear list of which states changed Medicare Savings Program (MSP) income limits in the past five years; therefore a definitive answer about “which states have increased MSP income limits and by how much” cannot be produced from these sources alone [1] [2] [3]. The evidence does show recent, modest upward shifts in some Medicaid long‑term care caps driven by Federal Benefit Rate updates and widespread variation in Medicaid income thresholds across states [3] [4] [1].
1. What the question is actually asking — MSP versus Medicaid
The user’s query targets MSP income limits, a set of rules that determine eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs that help pay Medicare premiums and cost‑sharing, which are distinct from Medicaid income‑eligibility thresholds that determine Medicaid coverage; the supplied documents overwhelmingly discuss Medicaid income limits, expansion, and related federal updates rather than MSP rules, so conflating the two risks answering the wrong question unless MSP‑specific data are located [1] [2].
2. What the provided reporting does document: Medicaid income movements
The available reporting and data collections show that states regularly adjust Medicaid income limits and that national trackers (KFF, World Population Review, Jarvis, and others) report changes in 2024–2026 for Medicaid categories and long‑term care caps; for example, many states increased their standard long‑term care cap from $2,901 to $2,982 for single applicants in 2026, a change attributed to updates in the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) [3] [4] [5].
3. Mechanisms causing income‑limit shifts in the reporting
Two mechanisms recur in the material: annual updates to federal benchmarks (the Federal Poverty Level and the Federal Benefit Rate), which change the dollar thresholds used by states, and state policy choices or Medicaid expansion decisions that raise eligibility standards for adults up to roughly 138% of FPL in expansion states; both mechanisms explain why Medicaid thresholds moved in the past five years [3] [6] [7].
4. The reporting gap on MSP — what’s missing and why it matters
None of the supplied sources present a statewide history of MSP income‑limit increases over the last five years or enumerate state‑by‑state MSP changes; instead they focus on Medicaid eligibility, expansion status, and general income limit trends, meaning the specific question about MSP changes cannot be answered from the provided material without consulting CMS regulations, state Medicaid/Medicare program notices, or MSP‑specific trackers that the current collection omits [1] [2] [3].
5. How to get the precise MSP answers policymakers and advocates need
To produce the requested state list and dollar or percentage changes for MSP income limits over the past five years, the necessary sources are CMS rule and guidance documents, state Medicaid/Medicare agency rate notices and plan documents, and consolidated MSP trackers (not present among the supplied items); in lieu of those, the closest evidence here documents Medicaid income shifts and an across‑the‑board 2026 FBR‑driven raise for long‑term care caps but does not substitute for MSP‑specific historical data [3] [2] [1].
6. Bottom line
The supplied reporting documents meaningful adjustments to Medicaid income thresholds and a 2026 FBR‑linked rise in many states’ long‑term care caps, but it does not include the MSP‑specific, state‑by‑state increases the question requests, so a definitive accounting of “which states increased MSP income limits in the last five years and by how much” cannot be compiled from these sources alone; obtaining that answer will require targeted federal and state MSP documentation [3] [1] [2].