Plain-English help with Medicaid for long-term care

If a parent or spouse suddenly needs nursing-home care, you're facing a program with different rules in every state and a lot of confident, contradictory advice online. This site explains what actually applies, with every figure sourced and dated. Start with whichever question is keeping you up.

Start here

• Am I eligible? The two tests you have to pass, and which one to check first.
• What does it cost? What nursing homes and assisted living really run per month.
• What do I do next? Whether Medicaid pays, and what you still contribute.

The basics

• What is Medicaid? Who runs it, who it covers, and why it matters for long-term care.
• Medicaid vs Medicare. Similar names, very different programs. Only one pays for a long nursing-home stay.
• Does Medicare cover a nursing home? Briefly, and usually for less time than families are told.

The money rules

• Income limits. The cap in most states, and why about half of states use none at all.
• Asset limits. What counts, what's exempt, and what the at-home spouse keeps.
• Protecting assets. What legally works, what backfires, and why timing decides.
• Can Medicaid take your house? Not while you're alive. What can happen afterward, and the exceptions.

What care costs

• Nursing home costs. About $9,581 a month for a shared room, nationally.
• Assisted living costs. About $6,200 a month, and why Medicaid usually won't cover the rent.

What's changing

Medicaid changes in 2026 and beyond. The 2025 budget law shortens retroactive coverage from January 1, 2027 and caps home equity at $1,000,000 from January 1, 2028. The work requirements you've read about generally do not apply to people qualifying on age or disability.

Figures shown are 2026 amounts, last verified July 17, 2026. Source: CMS, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services; Social Security Administration.

How this site works

Every dollar figure here comes from a primary source, usually a federal agency bulletin or a state's own Medicaid rules, and each carries the date we last checked it. Where we could not confirm a state's figure, the page says so instead of printing a number we can't stand behind.

We're not a law firm and not a government agency, and we don't sell Medicaid application help. Read how we source and review content and how we make money.