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Editorial Policy

Effective date: · Last updated:

This editorial policy describes how Spend Down Calculator creates, sources, and maintains content at https://spenddowncalculator.com. Our audience includes families facing nursing-home bills, caregivers, and professionals who need plain-language explanations of complex Medicaid rules.

1. Purpose and scope

We publish calculators, guides, and blog articles about Medicaid asset limits, income spend-down, look-back rules, exempt property, Miller Trusts, application steps, and estate recovery. All content is educational. It is not legal advice. See our disclaimer.

2. Sourcing requirements

We prioritize these source types, in order:

  1. State Medicaid agency handbooks, bulletins, and eligibility manuals
  2. CMS and Medicaid.gov policy pages
  3. Social Security Administration (SSI) program instructions where relevant
  4. eCFR and federal statute citations (42 U.S.C., 42 CFR)
  5. Reputable nonprofit explainers (KFF, Justice in Aging) for context only

Every page with dollar limits includes a sources section with outbound links and access dates. We do not fabricate limits. If we cannot verify a figure, we label it UNVERIFIED on the calculator page.

3. Verified vs UNVERIFIED data

Batch 1 verified states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina) load agency-confirmed 2026 caps where available. All other states display a $2,000 federal floor placeholder with an UNVERIFIED flag until we confirm the state PDF.

4. Review process

Pillar guides and high-traffic blog posts are reviewed for accuracy, plain language, and YMYL compliance before publication. Gabriel Heiser, J.D. reviews or advises on elder law and Medicaid planning topics. Review status and last-updated dates appear on each page.

5. Updates and corrections

Medicaid limits change on state fiscal calendars, not only January 1. We update content when CMS publishes CSRA figures, when states post new bulletins, or when readers report errors with a valid agency link. Email [email protected] with the page URL and source.

6. Conflicts of interest

Spend Down Calculator may display advertisements through Google AdSense. Advertising does not influence which state limits we publish or how we describe Medicaid rules. We do not accept payment to favor one spend-down strategy over another in editorial content.

7. AI and automation disclosure

We use structured content workflows and editorial checklists. All published pages pass human review for accuracy, sourcing, and compliance with our non-AI writing standards (no fabricated limits, no unsourced legal claims, state-specific detail required).

8. Primary references

We routinely cite:

9. Contact

Report errors or suggest sources on our contact page.