Care Affordability Calculator
See how long your savings can cover long-term care — and exactly which programs can stretch them further. Six short sections, plain English, no exact dollars required. By the end you'll have a clear runway estimate and a 30-day plan.
What this assessment will show you
A short, guided look at what's coming in, what's going out, and how long it lasts — so you can plan with clarity instead of guesswork.
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Your care runway
How many months and years your income and savings can realistically cover the type of care you may need.
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The monthly gap
What care costs in your state minus what's coming in each month — the number that decides how long resources last.
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Programs that help
VA Aid & Attendance, Medicaid, Medicare GUIDE, caregiver pay, and tax breaks that can stretch your runway.
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Your next 30 days
The specific steps, documents, and conversations to have before a decision gets made for you.
Six short sections · Always Free
How long can you afford care?
Answer a few questions and we'll give you a personalized estimate — plus specific steps to extend your runway.
Your care runway
How many months your savings can cover care in your state
Programs you may qualify for
VA, Medicaid, and benefits that can stretch your savings further
A clear 30-day plan
Specific next steps tailored to your situation
About 5 minutes Free — account required to save your results
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Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your income, savings, and the type of care needed. Our calculator estimates a personalized monthly gap (care cost minus income) and divides your liquid assets by that gap to give you a runway in months and years. National averages put nursing home care over $9,581/month and assisted living near $6,200/month — your runway depends heavily on which type of care is needed and where you live.
Medicaid eligibility for long-term care is determined by your state and depends on income, countable assets, and medical need. Most states require countable assets under approximately $2,000 for a single applicant; married couples have community spouse protections. Medicaid covers nursing home care as an entitlement, while home and community-based services are typically capped with waitlists. Apply as soon as you reach eligibility — Medicaid now covers retroactively only up to 60 days before application.
Yes. The VA Aid & Attendance benefit provides up to $2,874/month (married veteran), $2,424/month (single veteran), and $1,558/month (surviving spouse) in 2026 toward care costs. Eligibility depends on wartime service, income, and assets (net worth limit $163,699 in 2026). Many eligible veterans and surviving spouses never apply — a VA-accredited counselor can file at no cost.
Most families combine income, savings, family contributions, and benefit programs (Medicaid, VA, Medicare GUIDE for dementia) to bridge the gap. Caregiver compensation programs can pay family members. Hybrid life/LTC policies and other financial tools can extend a runway. The most important step is talking with an elder law attorney or care navigator early — programs like Medicaid have lookback periods and 60-day retroactive limits that reward early planning.
Available assets are the liquid resources you could realistically spend on care within 12 months — typically checking and savings, CDs, brokerage accounts, and retirement balances (after estimated taxes and any early-withdrawal penalties). Most families exclude their primary home, one vehicle, household goods, irrevocable trusts, and prepaid burial accounts. This is not the same list Medicaid uses for eligibility — Medicaid counts most of the same items but caps countable assets near $2,000 for a single applicant in 2026, with separate community-spouse protections. Our calculator focuses on spendable runway, not Medicaid eligibility math.
Home equity only extends your care runway if you actually monetize it — through a sale, a HELOC, or an FHA-insured reverse mortgage (HECM, available at age 62+). Keeping the home preserves the Medicaid primary-residence exemption (and protects a community spouse), but the equity is not 'spendable' until accessed. Plan ahead for the OBBBA federal home-equity ceiling of roughly $1,152,500 taking effect January 2028, above which the home can disqualify a Medicaid applicant. A reverse mortgage typically requires the borrower to remain living in the home, which rules it out once a permanent move to assisted living or a nursing home occurs.
Because long-term care prices vary 2–3x by state. The national median according to the 2025 CareScout Cost of Care Survey for a private nursing home room is about $10,798/month, but it ranges from roughly $7,604/month in Missouri to $36,000/month in Alaska. Assisted living medians cluster near $6,200/month nationally but are higher in high-cost regions. Home-care hourly rates show similar spread. The same assets may cover more care in a low-cost state and less in a high-cost metro — which is why our calculator uses state-level data from the 2025 CareScout Cost of Care Survey instead of a flat national average.
No — and this is the most expensive misconception in long-term care planning. Original Medicare covers up to 100 days of skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying 3-day inpatient hospital stay (full coverage days 1–20, daily coinsurance days 21–100), plus limited intermittent home health for medically necessary skilled needs. Medicare does NOT cover custodial long-term care — help with bathing, dressing, eating, or supervision — which is what most families actually need. Once Medicare days are exhausted, families fall back on private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits, or Medicaid (which does cover custodial nursing home care for those who qualify financially).
Yes, and it's one of the most underused strategies. Most state Medicaid programs offer self-directed care waivers (such as New York's CDPAP, California's IHSS, or VA Veteran-Directed Care) that let an eligible person hire and pay a family member — sometimes including an adult child or, in select states, a spouse. Outside of waivers, families can use a written personal care agreement at fair-market rates to compensate a relative privately. Both routes require careful documentation: undocumented payments can be treated as gifts under Medicaid's 5-year lookback and trigger a penalty period. Caregiver wages are taxable income to the recipient.
Several federal tax provisions can meaningfully extend a care runway. (1) The IRS medical-expense deduction allows qualifying long-term care services and certain LTCI premiums to be deducted above 7.5% of AGI when the patient is certified chronically ill. (2) Tax-qualified LTCI premiums are deductible up to 2026 age-based caps — $1,930 (ages 51–60) and $5,110 (ages 61–70). (3) SECURE 2.0 §334 (effective Dec 2025) allows up to $2,500/year in penalty-free retirement-account withdrawals to pay LTCI premiums. (4) HSA funds can pay qualified LTC premiums up to the same age-based caps, tax-free. Coordinate with a CPA — these stack with state-level credits in many states.