Education Guide
Learn the fundamentals of long-term care, from understanding care levels to navigating the planning process.
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Education & Guides
Everything you need to understand long-term care — in one place. From costs and Medicaid eligibility to caregiver support, financial planning, and family guidance, our in-depth guides and articles cover every topic families face when planning for the future.
This Education & Guides hub organizes LTCareNav's long-term care library into four sections: an Education Guide covering the fundamentals of care levels and planning, Essential Guides offering in-depth coverage of the topics every family should understand, Latest Articles with current insights on policy and practical planning, and State Planning Guides with Medicaid eligibility, care costs, and veterans benefits for all 50 states.
Essential Guides
Curated in-depth guides covering key topics every family should understand about long-term care.
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Latest Articles
Stay informed with our latest articles on care trends, policy updates, and practical planning tips.
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State Planning Guides
Explore state-by-state long-term care planning guides covering Medicaid eligibility, care costs, waiver programs, veterans benefits, and local resources for all 50 states.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Long-term care is help with everyday activities — bathing, dressing, eating, moving safely, or managing memory loss — when someone can no longer do them alone. It's most common after age 65, but younger adults with disabilities or chronic illness need it too. About 70% of people turning 65 will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime. Our Education Guide walks through the fundamentals, from care levels to the planning process.
Medicare is federal health insurance that covers short-term skilled care — up to 100 days in a nursing home after a qualifying hospital stay — but it does not pay for ongoing custodial care at home or in assisted living. Medicaid is the joint federal-state program that does pay for long-term care for people who meet income and asset limits. Our Medicare guide explains exactly what's covered and what isn't, and our Medicaid planning guide explains eligibility.
Costs vary widely by state and care type. Based on 2026 CareScout projections, the national median is roughly $6,200 per month for assisted living, $5,800 per month for a home health aide, and over $10,000 per month for a private nursing home room. Memory care typically runs 20–30% more than standard assisted living. Our care costs by state tool shows verified 2026 medians for every state and care type.
The best time is before a crisis — ideally in your 50s or early 60s, while all options are still open. Planning early preserves choices: you can qualify for more programs, protect assets legally within Medicaid's five-year look-back rules, and make decisions calmly instead of in a hospital discharge meeting. But even if care is needed now, it's not too late — our Essential Guides cover both crisis and advance planning paths.
Every state runs Medicaid differently — income limits, asset rules, waiver programs, and waitlists all vary. Our State Planning Guides cover Medicaid eligibility, care costs, waiver programs, veterans benefits, and local resources for all 50 states, each updated with verified 2026 figures. Start with your state's page to see the exact limits and programs that apply to your family.