Care and Benefits: What Long-Term Care Medicaid Pays For
Long-Term Care Medicaid is not just “nursing home Medicaid.” Depending on the state, it can pay for care in a nursing home, in assisted living, in an adult day program or at home, and in many states it can even pay a family member to provide care. This section explains what each kind of care is, how Medicaid pays for it, and what families should know about rights, quality and costs.
Figures change periodically. Double-check current amounts before relying on them.
The short version
- Nursing home care is a required Medicaid benefit in every state, with no waiting list for people who qualify.
- Home and community-based services (care at home, in adult day programs and in assisted living) are offered in every state, but often through waiver programs with enrollment caps and waiting lists.
- Medicaid generally does not pay room and board in assisted living or at home. It pays for care services.
- Residents of Medicaid-certified nursing homes have strong federal rights, including protections against improper discharge.
- Families can often choose how care is delivered, including hiring and directing their own caregivers.
Overview
Nursing homes
- How nursing home care is paid for
- Nursing home costs by state
- What nursing home Medicaid covers
- Getting into a Medicaid nursing home
- Nursing home discharges and evictions
- Bed-hold policies
- Private rooms on Medicaid
- Using Care Compare to check quality
- Alternatives to nursing homes
Assisted living
- Will Medicaid pay for assisted living?
- Assisted living rules by state
- Room and board in assisted living
- Finding assisted living that accepts Medicaid
- Assisted living evictions
Care at home and in the community
- In-home care through Medicaid
- Adult day care
- Respite care benefits
- Hospice under Medicaid
- PACE programs
- Money Follows the Person
- Home modifications, equipment and supplies
Family caregivers
Medicare and Medicaid together
Choosing the right setting
| Need | Settings to consider |
|---|---|
| Round-the-clock skilled nursing | Nursing home |
| Help with daily activities, wants own apartment | Assisted living (through a waiver or state plan) |
| Wants to stay home, family helps | In-home care, adult day care, consumer-directed or paid family caregiver programs |
| Caregiver needs a break | Respite care |
| Terminal illness | Hospice, at home or in a facility |
| Lives in a PACE service area, 55+ | PACE |
| In a nursing home, wants to move back to the community | Money Follows the Person |
Each state guide lists that state’s programs. Programs and waiting lists change often, and a Certified Medicaid Planner can help a family match the person’s needs to the programs available in their state.
Related sections
Last updated for 2026. General information only, not legal or financial advice. Medicaid Answers is a free educational resource published by Medicaid Answers Foundation.