Amarillo, Texas is unusual twice over: the city sits across two counties, Potter to the north and Randall to the south, and Texas does not run Medicaid eligibility through county offices at all. Long-term care applications go to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which operates benefits offices in Amarillo and accepts applications statewide through its online benefits system. So the county line matters less for the application than families expect — but it still matters for probate, property records and estate recovery later, which is why it is worth settling early which county your parent’s address is actually in.
The program is Texas Medicaid. Adults 65 and over and adults with disabilities receive services through STAR+PLUS, the state’s managed care program, which includes a home and community based services waiver for people who need nursing facility level care but stay at home, and covers acute care for people who enter a nursing facility under the Medicaid nursing facility benefit. As of 2026 Texas applies a $2,000 countable-resource limit for a single long-term care applicant, together with a hard monthly income cap. Confirm both with HHSC before planning around them.
This page is a countdown, working backward from the day care is needed. Amarillo’s numbers are genuinely different from most of the country, and in one important respect they are better.
In This Article
- Potter County or Randall County? Amarillo Sits in Both
- Twelve Months Out: The Sixty-Month Review
- Six Months Out: The Least Expensive Market on This List
- The Income Cap, and the Trust That Resolves It
- Sixty Days Out: The HHSC Document Package
- The Life Policy Against a $2,000 Limit
- The Texas Homestead, Estate Recovery, and When Not to Sell
- Frequently Asked Questions
Potter County or Randall County? Amarillo Sits in Both
Amarillo’s city limits cross the Potter-Randall county line. Broadly, the older northern and central portions of the city lie in Potter County, whose seat is Amarillo itself, and the southern and southwestern growth areas lie in Randall County, whose seat is Canyon. A postal address reading “Amarillo, TX” tells you nothing about which one applies.
For the Medicaid application itself this matters less than it would in a county-administered state. Texas HHSC determines eligibility centrally, and an Amarillo family can file online, by mail, by phone or in person at an HHSC benefits office without worrying which county the property tax bill comes from.
Where it does matter is everything downstream. Deeds, property tax valuations and probate all run through the county in which the property sits, and Texas Medicaid estate recovery works through the probate estate. A family that assumes both counties are interchangeable can lose time pulling records from the wrong clerk’s office at exactly the wrong moment. Check the deed or the tax statement, write it down, and move on.
Twelve Months Out: The Sixty-Month Review
Texas reviews the sixty months preceding a long-term care application for transfers made for less than fair market value. A disqualifying transfer produces a penalty period calculated from the amount given away against a statewide average daily rate HHSC publishes and updates. As everywhere, the penalty runs from the point the applicant would otherwise qualify, which is after the money has gone and the resident is already in a facility.
At twelve months the work is retrieval and inventory. Request complete statements for every account open at any point in the past five years, closed accounts included. Panhandle families frequently bank with small community institutions and local credit unions where archived statements take weeks and are not available online. Document every transfer above a few thousand dollars with its purpose. Inventory titled property — and in this region that means land, mineral interests and royalty income as well as the house, all of which are commonly held and routinely forgotten. List retirement accounts, annuities and every life insurance policy, including small policies bought through a church group, a farm bureau or a fraternal organization decades ago.
Get a durable power of attorney executed if none exists; without one, no adult child can order carrier documents, establish an income trust or file. If restructuring is going to happen at all it happens here, with a Texas elder law attorney. Certain transfers are exempt — to a spouse, to a disabled child, and under narrow caregiver-child and sibling rules attached to the homestead — but the conditions are strict, and mineral or royalty interests complicate every one of them.
Six Months Out: The Least Expensive Market on This List
Texas is among the most affordable long-term care states in the country, and the Amarillo market sits at or slightly below the Texas median. Using 2026 cost-of-care survey data as ranges rather than facility quotes, a semi-private skilled nursing room in Amarillo generally runs about $5,800 to $7,200 a month, a private room roughly $6,800 to $8,500, and assisted living about $4,200 to $5,300. Texas statewide medians sit near $6,000 to $7,000 for a semi-private skilled nursing room and near $4,400 to $5,000 for assisted living.
That changes the runway dramatically. A household with $150,000 of reachable savings buys roughly twenty-three months of a semi-private Amarillo nursing bed — the same $150,000 buys under ten months in Westchester County, New York. Amarillo families genuinely have more time, and the right response to more time is to use it for planning rather than to assume the problem is smaller. Our Amarillo care cost page runs this at more savings levels.
Two local facts complicate the picture. First, Amarillo is the care hub for the entire Texas Panhandle: the Panhandle Area Agency on Aging, a program of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, is headquartered in Amarillo and serves a very large multi-county rural region, which means Amarillo facilities absorb demand from families driving in from small towns across the Panhandle. Second, Amarillo home values run below the Texas median and well below the national one. Home equity is a thinner cushion here than in most markets, which makes liquid assets and life insurance a proportionally larger share of what a family actually has.
| Reachable savings | Months of an Amarillo semi-private nursing room (2026 midpoint ~$6,500) | Months of Amarillo assisted living (~$4,750) | Planning implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | About 7-8 months | About 10 months | File now; the resource test is near either way |
| $150,000 | About 23 months | About 31 months | Enough runway to use the full planning window |
| $300,000 | About 46 months | Over 5 years | Sixty-month look-back planning is genuinely available |
| $450,000 | About 69 months | Nearly 8 years | Eligibility may never be needed; plan for the survivor instead |
The Income Cap, and the Trust That Resolves It
Texas is an income-cap state. If an applicant’s gross monthly income exceeds the special income level HHSC uses for long-term care Medicaid, the person is over the limit no matter how little is left after the nursing facility is paid. There is no partial credit for being close, and in Amarillo — where the monthly cost of care is comparatively low — it is entirely possible for someone to be over the income cap while still unable to afford the bed.
The remedy is a Qualified Income Trust, commonly called a Miller Trust. Income above the cap is deposited into the trust each month, and if it is drafted and administered correctly that income is not counted. Texas elder law attorneys prepare these routinely. What matters is timing: the trust is generally not retroactive, so a trust set up in June usually does not fix May, and every uncovered month is a month billed privately.
Royalty and mineral income deserve a specific warning here. In the Panhandle it is common for a household’s monthly income to fluctuate with production payments, which can push someone over the cap in one month and under it in the next. That volatility has to be handled deliberately in how the trust is funded. Confirm the current income cap figure with HHSC and work the mechanics through with a Texas elder law attorney rather than a general template.
Sixty Days Out: The HHSC Document Package
Two months out the job is procurement. HHSC will want identity and Texas residency verification, Social Security and Medicare records, sixty months of statements on every account, deeds and current appraisal district valuations for real property in Potter, Randall or any other county, vehicle titles, any prepaid funeral or burial contract, income award letters including royalty statements, trust instruments where applicable, and complete carrier documentation on every life insurance policy.
Order the insurance letters first. What HHSC needs is a current statement from the carrier showing face amount, cash surrender value as of a stated date, owner of record and beneficiary — not a premium notice and not the original policy jacket. Carriers routinely take three to six weeks and often correspond only with the owner or a documented attorney-in-fact.
Where a spouse stays in the Amarillo home, the couple’s countable resources are assessed and divided. Federal 2026 figures place the community spouse resource allowance between $32,532 and $162,660, with a maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance of $4,066.50. Texas applies figures inside that band; ask HHSC which govern your household rather than assuming the maximum. In a market where the annual cost of care is comparatively low, the spousal allowance often protects a larger share of the household’s assets than families expect.
The Life Policy Against a $2,000 Limit
The rule families get backward is an aggregation rule. Eligibility staff do not start with cash value. They add the face amounts of every policy the applicant owns on any one insured life. As of 2026 the SSI-based threshold Texas follows is $1,500 of combined face value — a figure set in the 1970s and never indexed. At or under it, cash surrender value is excluded outright. Above it, the entire cash surrender value becomes a countable resource that has to come down to $2,000.
So a $40,000 whole life policy carrying $12,000 of cash value is a $12,000 barrier even though the family has always regarded it as the funeral plan. A $250,000 term policy with no cash value is not a countable resource at all, which says nothing about its worth — only that eligibility rules never reach it. How life insurance counts as a Medicaid asset covers the mechanics.
Because Amarillo’s monthly cost of care is comparatively low, the same policy stretches further here. Twelve thousand dollars of cash value covers roughly two months of a semi-private Amarillo bed; in a high-cost market it covers less than one. That is a real argument for slowing down and getting the numbers right rather than surrendering in a hurry. Surrender is one option and often the worst: a reduced paid-up election cuts the face amount and ends the premium while keeping some benefit, an irrevocable funeral trust converts countable dollars into an excluded burial reserve within Texas limits, and a policy with genuine secondary-market value may be worth well above surrender. Compare surrendering against selling before signing anything. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies; we provide a free policy review that produces a real number for the family and its own attorney.
The Texas Homestead, Estate Recovery, and When Not to Sell
Texas treats the homestead unusually well, and Texas estate recovery is comparatively narrow. The Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program applies to people who first received covered long-term care services on or after March 1, 2005, recovers through the probate estate, and carries a set of exemptions and hardship waivers that block recovery in many ordinary situations. Whether a specific estate is exposed turns on how property passes and who survives — and Texas probate has its own devices that change the answer. Confirm the current rules with HHSC and with a Texas elder law attorney; do not treat any general description as settled.
The residence itself is generally excluded while the applicant lives there or intends to return, subject to a federal home-equity cap that for 2026 runs from $752,000 at the standard figure to $1,130,000 at the higher figure a state may elect. In Amarillo this is very rarely the binding constraint — but families holding a homestead plus ranch or agricultural acreage should ask HHSC how the additional land is treated, because acreage outside the homestead is a different question from the homestead itself.
Four situations argue against selling a policy. Face amounts under roughly $100,000 rarely attract institutional buyers and below about $50,000 the market is effectively closed. A policy already inside the burial exclusion is already protected, and selling it converts protection into countable cash. A relatively healthy insured will be priced by life expectancy underwriting rather than by need — worth understanding before the family builds a plan around a number nobody has quoted, which is why what actually drives an offer after 65 is worth reading first. And a surviving spouse who needs the death benefit should generally keep it. Free help in the Panhandle: the Panhandle Area Agency on Aging in Amarillo, and the Texas Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program, the state’s SHIP service. The Texas Department of Insurance regulates insurers. A free policy review for Amarillo families costs nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which county office takes a Medicaid application in Amarillo?
None. Texas determines long-term care Medicaid eligibility through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which operates benefits offices in Amarillo and accepts applications online, by mail and by phone statewide. Amarillo spans Potter and Randall counties, but that division affects deeds, appraisals and probate rather than where the application goes.
What is Texas’s countable asset limit for 2026?
Texas applies a $2,000 countable-resource limit for a single long-term care applicant as of 2026. Couples are assessed jointly and split, with a community spouse resource allowance running federally from $32,532 to $162,660 in 2026. Texas also imposes a monthly income cap. Confirm all current figures with HHSC before relying on them.
Do I need a Miller Trust in Texas?
If gross monthly income exceeds the state’s income cap for long-term care Medicaid, yes. A Qualified Income Trust holds the excess each month so it is not counted. It is routine but generally not retroactive, so establish it before the month you need coverage. Royalty and mineral income that varies month to month needs particular care in how the trust is funded.
Are Amarillo nursing home costs really that much lower?
Yes. As of 2026 a semi-private skilled nursing room in Amarillo generally ranges from about $5,800 to $7,200 a month, against ranges two to three times higher in the most expensive coastal markets. These are cost-of-care survey ranges rather than facility quotes. Lower cost means longer runway, which is an argument for planning rather than complacency.
Will Texas take the family homestead after death?
The Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program applies to people who first received covered services on or after March 1, 2005 and recovers through the probate estate, with exemptions and hardship waivers that block recovery in many situations. Exposure depends on how property passes and who survives. Confirm current rules with HHSC and a Texas elder law attorney.
Where do Panhandle families get free help?
The Panhandle Area Agency on Aging, a program of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission headquartered in Amarillo, serves the multi-county Panhandle region. The Texas Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program is the state’s free State Health Insurance Assistance Program service. The Texas Department of Insurance handles insurer conduct and licensing complaints.
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Related Reading
- Nursing Home Costs Amarillo Tx
- Life Settlements Amarillo Tx
- Texas Medicaid Asset Income Limits
- Sell Life Insurance Policy Bell County Tx
- Nursing Home Medicaid Spend Down
- Life Insurance Counts Medicaid Asset
- Surrender Vs Sell Policy
- Over 65 Sell Policy
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.