Hawaii grants
& benefits: Med-QUEST, Kupuna Care, county home exemptions and a June-only energy credit.

Med-QUEST enrolls eligible residents in QUEST Integration health plans. For 2026, adults 19 to 64 qualify at up to 133% of poverty: $2,035 a month alone or $4,207 for four. A 5% disregard lifts that to $2,112 or $4,365 when it makes the difference.

Apply online at medical.mybenefits.hawaii.gov, call 1-800-316-8005 (TTY 1-855-889-4325 or 711), or mail or fax the DHS 1100 to an eligibility office. Assets are not counted for these income-based groups. Long-term care and disability applicants attach extra forms.

When you turn 65 or become disabled, you can stay in the same QUEST Integration plan, and every one of those plans also offers Medicare plans. Parents enrolled in Med-QUEST can also claim a $50 card for each child's yearly well-child exam through the Hawai'i Child Wellness Incentive Program.

Two rules arrive on January 1, 2027 for members aged 19 through 64 who are not blind, disabled or pregnant: renewals every six months, and proof of 80 hours a month of work or volunteering, $580 in monthly earnings, or half-time school.

Coverage basics that hold in all 50 states sit in our Medicaid program guide.

Kupuna Care is a state program under Chapter 349 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes that pays for services so older adults can keep living at home. A care recipient must be 60 or older, a citizen or permanent resident, living outside a care facility, and not covered by a comparable home care service.

The test is about daily function. You need help with at least two daily activities such as bathing or dressing, two household tasks such as meals or money, one of each, or have serious cognitive impairment. The county agency on aging confirms this with an in-home assessment.

Family caregivers can get support too, including employed caregivers who work at least 20 hours a week or are self-employed. Funds go to the provider, not the family. Honolulu's Elderly Affairs Division says cost-sharing may apply based on income, and most services have waitlists.

First call the statewide ADRC, Hawaii's aging and disability help line, at 808-643-2372, or your county office: Honolulu 808-768-7700, Hawaii County 808-961-8626, Maui County 808-270-7774, Kauai 808-241-4470. Your support plan draws on this list of services:

• Adult day care, and respite care that gives a caregiver a break
• Personal care, attendant care, homemaker and chore help
• Home-delivered meals, transportation and assisted transportation
• Case management, care coordination and caregiver support

Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled (AABD) pays monthly cash for food, clothing and shelter to people 65 or older, or who meet Social Security's disability or blindness rules, and who mostly cannot get federal benefits. It also bridges people waiting on an SSI or SSDI decision.

Countable income has to stay under 34% of the 2006 federal poverty level, and resources are capped at $2,000 for a single person or $3,000 for a couple. A household with a dependent child is referred to TANF or TAONF instead.

General Assistance (GA) covers adults 18 through 64 with no minor children who are temporarily disabled and do not qualify for Social Security. A DHS medical board must find you unable to work 30 hours a week for at least 60 days. The same $2,000 and $3,000 asset caps apply.

GA is paid from a yearly block grant set by the Legislature, so DHS may adjust the monthly amount during the year to stay within budget. The PAIS website and its 24-hour line, 1-855-643-1643, answer questions about both cash programs.

How federal SSI is figured, and how to file, is covered in our SSI program guide.

Hawaii pays two credits even to residents who owe no income tax, as long as they file. The refundable food/excise tax credit on Form N-311 is $220 per qualified person for 2025 when federal AGI is under $15,000, and it shrinks to $0 at $40,000 for single filers or $60,000 for others.

The low-income household renters' credit pays $50 per qualified person when AGI is under $30,000 and you paid more than $1,000 in rent on a taxed unit. It doubles for a filer or spouse 65 or older. Both credits require more than nine months in Hawaii, and 2025 claims close December 31, 2026.

Property tax relief comes from your county. On Oahu, the home exemption cuts taxable value by $120,000, or $160,000 at 65 and older, rising to $140,000 and $180,000 on July 1, 2027. Claims filed by September 30 and approved take effect the next tax year.

Oahu also exempts a totally disabled veteran's home from all but the minimum tax, and gives a further $25,000 exemption to owners who are totally disabled or have impaired sight or hearing. Owners on the other islands should check their own county's real property office.

Hawaii renamed its LIHEAP program the Hawai'i Home Energy Assistance Program (H-HEAP). It makes a one-time payment toward an electric or gas bill, and a household gets just one kind of payment in each program year (October 1 through September 30).

The Energy Credit is for households that are not in crisis, and it accepts applications only in June. Energy Crisis Intervention is for a home with a disconnection notice. It takes applications all year, but monthly approvals are limited and fill quickly.

Do not take the form to a DHS office. Send it to the community action agency for your island: HCAP on Oahu, Maui Economic Opportunity for Maui, Molokai and Lanai, Kaua'i Economic Opportunity, or the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council. Include the whole utility bill and last month's income.

For how the national energy program works, see our LIHEAP program guide.

SNAP in Hawaii runs on separate federal standards from the mainland, so we cover it on a page of its own, from the income tables to deposit dates and the interview phone line.

If someone in your home already gets SNAP, SSI or TANF, say so on the H-HEAP form. The agency notes that it may help it provide faster energy assistance.

Income limits, benefit amounts and how to apply are in our Hawaii food stamps guide.