Long-Term Care FAQ

No. Medicare.gov says Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care, and neither do Medicare Supplement plans or most health insurance. What Medicare does cover is short-term skilled nursing care after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days in a row, up to 100 days per benefit period. In 2026 you pay nothing for days 1 to 20 and $217 a day for days 21 to 100.

According to the CareScout Cost of Care Survey for 2025, the Nebraska median was $275 a day, or $100,521 a year, for a semi-private nursing home room, and $303 a day, or $110,595 a year, for a private room. Both are below the national medians of $114,975 and $129,575 a year. Prices in your town may differ, because the published figures are statewide medians.

The 2025 CareScout survey put Nebraska's median for a non-medical in-home caregiver at $36 an hour, which works out to $82,368 a year at 44 hours a week. A private one-bedroom in assisted living had a median of $6,350 a month, or $76,200 a year. Adult day health care ran $163 a day. Some families combine these, such as adult day care plus a few hours of help at home.

The federal Administration for Community Living estimates that someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services. Women tend to need care longer than men, about 3.7 years compared with 2.2 years. About 20% of people will need care for more than five years. Those odds are why planning ahead matters, even if you never end up needing much care.

For a tax-qualified policy, a licensed health care practitioner has to certify that you can't do at least two of six activities of daily living without substantial help for at least 90 days, or that you need substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment, such as dementia. The six activities are eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing and continence. Then the policy's elimination period has to pass before benefits begin.

The elimination period is the number of days you pay for your own care after you qualify, before the policy starts paying. It works like a deductible measured in days instead of dollars. A longer elimination period usually lowers the premium, but you need savings to cover that stretch. Using the 2025 Nebraska median of $303 a day for a private nursing home room, 90 days would cost about $27,270.

On many traditional long-term care policies, yes. The premium isn't always guaranteed, and companies can request rate increases for a whole group of policyholders. That is why the NAIC tells shoppers to ask about a company's rate increase history before buying. Some hybrid policies built on life insurance have different premium terms, so ask whether a premium is guaranteed and read the policy before you sign.

A hybrid policy combines long-term care benefits with another product, most often life insurance. If you need care, the policy pays toward it. If you never need care, it pays a death benefit to your beneficiaries. The NAIC notes that a growing number of life insurance and annuity products now include a built-in long-term care benefit or an add-on. Hybrids usually cost more up front than a traditional policy.

It is a state program that started July 1, 2006. If you buy a qualifying tax-qualified Partnership policy while living in Nebraska, every dollar the policy pays in benefits is a dollar of assets Nebraska disregards if you later apply for Medicaid. Partnership policies need age-based inflation protection: compound if you buy before 61, some protection from 61 to 75, and none required at 76 or older.

It is a Nebraska Medicaid program that helps people who need a nursing home level of care stay at home or in the community instead. Services can include personal care, respite for family caregivers, chore help, home-delivered meals, home and vehicle changes, emergency response systems, adult day health and assisted living. You must qualify for Nebraska Medicaid. For people 65 and older in Lincoln, Aging Partners coordinates services.

Nebraska can seek repayment from the estate of someone who got Medicaid at 55 or older, but only after that person and any surviving spouse have died, and only if no child is under 21, blind or permanently disabled. Nebraska defines an estate broadly, including some assets that pass outside probate. A 2025 law, LB641, added an exclusion for certain life estates when a relative lived with the person and gave care that delayed a nursing home move. An elder law attorney can explain your options.

Yes. Bill can help you understand long-term care costs and the ways to pay for them, including long-term care insurance and hybrid life policies, and compare your options. He looks at it alongside your Medicare and life insurance so the pieces fit together. He doesn't enroll people in Medicaid or give legal or investment advice, and his help costs you nothing.