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Medicaid long-term care, explained
The rules that decide who pays for a nursing home are public — published by each state, changed almost every year, and scattered across policy manuals most families meet exactly once. This library collects them in plain English. Every figure is hand-verified against the official source, cited, and dated; nothing here is legal advice, and eligibility decisions are made only by your state's Medicaid agency.
State guides
State-by-state comparisons
The concepts, in plain English
- Does Medicare pay for nursing home care? Mostly, no — here's what does
Medicare covers at most 100 days of skilled nursing care after a hospital stay — and nothing for ongoing long-term care. What Medicare actually covers, and how families pay for nursing-home care after it stops.
- How to apply for Medicaid long-term care: the process, step by step
The Medicaid long-term-care application process, step by step: finding the right program, your state's published limits, the documents caseworkers request, official forms, and where to file. Applying is always free through your state agency.
- The Medicaid look-back period, explained in plain English
Most states review 60 months of financial history when someone applies for long-term-care Medicaid. What the look-back is, what triggers a transfer penalty, how penalties are calculated, and what documents it means you need.
- When one spouse needs a nursing home: Medicaid's protections for the spouse at home
Medicaid does not require the healthy spouse to be left with nothing. The community-spouse resource allowance, the monthly income allowance, and the home exemption — explained with published 2026 figures and citations.
- The documents you'll need for a Medicaid long-term-care application
Caseworkers ask for far more than an ID: five years of financial statements, deeds, titles, insurance policies, and more. The document categories every state requests, and why gathering them early matters most.
- Do you need an elder-law attorney to apply for Medicaid?
Some families need an elder-law attorney; many mostly need organization. When legal help genuinely matters for a long-term-care Medicaid application, what it costs, and how walking in prepared changes the bill.