Long-Term Care Medicaid, Explained in Plain Language
For seniors and families planning for nursing home care, assisted living or help at home.
Long-Term Care Medicaid can pay for nursing home care, assisted living services, and help at home for people who meet its income, asset and care rules. The rules are federal at their core, but every state sets its own limits and programs. Medicaid Answers Foundation publishes free educational guides, updated with 2026 figures, so families can understand how the program works before they apply.
This site covers long-term care Medicaid only. We don’t cover regular health coverage Medicaid, such as ACA expansion, children’s or pregnancy coverage.
Find Your State Guide
Each state guide covers the 2026 income and asset limits, spousal protections, the look-back, home and community-based programs, and how to apply in that state.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Learn the Rules by Topic
Long-Term Care Medicaid Basics
What it is, who qualifies, and how it differs from Medicare.
Income Rules
What counts as income, income limits, and what a nursing home resident keeps.
Asset Rules
Countable and exempt assets, and 2026 asset limits by state.
Spend-Down
How to reduce countable assets or income to qualify.
Look-Back and Gifts
The five-year look-back, penalty periods, and exempt transfers.
Married Couples
Protections for the spouse who stays at home.
Your Home and Estate Recovery
When the home is exempt and what estate recovery can claim.
Planning Strategies
How Long-Term Care Medicaid planning works, and red flags to avoid.
Care and Benefits
What Long-Term Care Medicaid pays for, from nursing homes to in-home care.
Waivers and Managed Care
Home and community-based waivers, waiting lists, and managed care.
Applying and Keeping Coverage
Applications, documents, denials, fair hearings, and renewals.
Veterans Benefits
VA pensions and how they interact with Long-Term Care Medicaid.
Popular Guides and Tools
- 2026 Long-Term Care Medicaid figures at a glance
- The five-year look-back
- Spousal impoverishment protections
- Estate recovery
- Home and community-based services waivers
- Eligibility check and penalty calculator
- Frequently asked questions
Consider a Certified Medicaid Planner
Long-Term Care Medicaid rules are detailed, and mistakes with gifts, transfers or timing can delay coverage for months. A Certified Medicaid Planner (CMP) is a professional trained in these rules who can review a family’s situation, explain the options, and help prepare the application.
| Type of help | Typical fee range |
|---|---|
| Help preparing and filing the application | About $500 to $6,000 |
| Full planning plus the application | About $2,500 to $15,000 or more |
| Hourly work, often for appeals and fair hearings | About $150 to $600 an hour |
Fees vary by state and by how complex the case is. Get any fee agreement in writing.
Have a Question About Long-Term Care Medicaid?
Use our question form to ask a general question, or email info@medicaidanswers.net. We share general education, not individual legal or financial advice.
Figures on this site are for 2026. Medicaid Answers Foundation is an educational publisher and is not a government agency.