Nursing home costs don’t have to take everything your family worked for.

Choose your state

Each guide explains what the state’s long-term care program is called, the 2026 income and asset rules, what the rules let a family keep, how to apply, and where to get free help. Every figure links to the official source.

In another state? Our guides cover these four states today. Contact us and we’ll point you to free help where you live, or reach your state’s Medicaid agency through Medicaid.gov.

Three things families wish they had known sooner

1. Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term nursing home care

Medicare can cover a limited, short stay in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital stay, but it doesn’t pay for long-term custodial care, the everyday help with bathing, dressing and eating that most nursing home residents need. Medicare.gov explains what is and isn’t covered.

2. Medicaid is the main public program that does, and its rules differ by state

Medicaid, run jointly by each state and the federal government, pays for a large share of long-term care in the U.S. Each state sets its own program names, income rules and application process, which is why our guides are written state by state.

3. The spouse at home is protected

Federal “spousal impoverishment” rules let the husband or wife who stays at home keep a share of the couple’s savings and income, so they aren’t left with nothing. Medicaid.gov describes these protections.