What assets count for Medicare Savings Programs in North Carolina?

What counts

NC Medicaid's resource manual, MA-2230, counts assets you own and can turn into cash for your support. For MQB-Q, MQB-B and MQB-E that generally means:

• Cash and checking, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit;
• Stocks, bonds and mutual funds;
• Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) that you can withdraw, at their surrender value;
• Real estate other than your home and the land around it, such as a second house or vacant lot;
• A second vehicle's equity, and the cash value of some life insurance (see below).

The county looks at your balances as of the first moment of the month. Money that comes in during a month, such as a Social Security payment, counts only if it's still there at the start of the next month.

What doesn't count in North Carolina

• Your home, of any kind (house, mobile home, houseboat), and adjoining land with a shared boundary. It stays excluded if your spouse or a dependent relative lives there, and, under MA-2230, if a disaster damaged or destroyed it and you intend to repair or rebuild and return.
• Household goods and personal effects, such as furniture, appliances, clothing and jewelry.
• One motor vehicle used for transportation, whatever its value. If you have more than one, the county excludes the one with the most equity.
• Burial spaces (plots, crypts, urns) and irrevocable burial contracts.
• Retirement accounts you can't withdraw in a lump sum.
• Life insurance cash value, as long as the total face value of your policies that build cash value is at or under the limit in MA-2230. Above it, the cash value counts.

If you're over the limit, MA-2230 also lets the county set aside up to $1,500 per person in savings, a revocable burial contract or life insurance cash value that you designate for burial, as long as it isn't mixed with other money.

If you're over the limit

The county sends a notice and lets you challenge a value or bring your resources down within the application processing time. Ask your county DSS before you move or give away money, so you know how it will be counted. MQB can start with the month your countable resources are under the limit at the first moment of the month. If your savings are too high for MQB, Extra Help with drug costs has a higher resource limit, $18,090 for one person in 2026; see Extra Help in North Carolina. Try the savings programs screener for a quick estimate, and read the full guide, Medicare Savings Programs in North Carolina.

Related questions

Sources

• NC Medicaid — MA-2230, Financial Resources, revised June 30, 2026 (PDF)
• NC Medicaid — MA-2252, Non-MAGI Medicaid Income/Reserve Limits (MQB reserve limit) (PDF)
• NC Medicaid — MA-2260, Financial Eligibility Regulations (whose resources count) (PDF)
• Medicare.gov — Medicare Savings Programs

More questions in this guide

• Can a doctor bill me if I have QMB in North Carolina?
• How do I apply for a Medicare Savings Program in North Carolina?
• How do I apply for Extra Help in North Carolina?
• QMB vs. SLMB vs. QI in North Carolina
• What are the Medicare Savings Program income limits in North Carolina?
• What is MQB in North Carolina Medicaid?

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