Long-Term Care
Long-term care is the help many of us need later in life with everyday activities like bathing, dressing, cooking, or getting around. It is one of the largest costs in retirement, and Medicare covers very little of it. Planning ahead protects both your savings and the people who would otherwise step in.
The basics
What long-term care really means
Long-term care is help with everyday personal tasks, the activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, eating, getting in and out of a chair, and using the bathroom. It is mostly personal care, not medical treatment. It can happen at home with an aide, at an assisted-living community, or in a nursing home for heavier needs. Most people who reach 65 will need some of it at some point.
What Medicare covers, and what it doesn't
This is the part most people get wrong. Medicare is built for short-term recovery, not for years of daily help. That gap is the reason to plan ahead.
Medicare does cover
- Up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility, after a qualifying three-day hospital stay
- The first 20 of those days in full, with a daily coinsurance after that
- Some short-term home health care and hospice care
Medicare does not cover
- Ongoing help with bathing, dressing, eating, the everyday tasks
- Long stays in assisted living or a nursing home
- Help at home when the need is personal care, not skilled medical care
Medicaid can pay for long-term care, but only after you have spent down most of your savings to qualify.
What care costs
National median costs per year, from the 2024 Genworth Cost of Care Survey:
- In-home aide
- $77,800
- Assisted living
- $70,800
- Nursing home, semi-private room
- $111,300
- Nursing home, private room
- $127,800
These are 2024 national medians. Costs vary by area and tend to rise each year, so a figure that looks manageable today will likely be higher when care is needed.
Ways to plan for it
Traditional long-term care insurance
A standalone policy that pays a benefit when you need care.
Worth weighing: Often the lowest entry cost, but premiums can rise over time, and if you never need care there is nothing to get back.
Hybrid, or asset-based
Life insurance or an annuity with a long-term care benefit built in.
Worth weighing: Premiums are usually fixed, and if the care benefit goes unused a death benefit goes to your family. They cost more up front.
Self-funding
Setting aside your own savings to pay for care.
Worth weighing: Full flexibility and no premiums, but a few years of care can run into the hundreds of thousands.
Medicaid
The government safety net for those who qualify.
Worth weighing: Available only after you spend down most of your savings, with less say in where you receive care. Most people treat it as a last resort.
Edgewater works mainly with insurance-based options, the first two above. We walk through all of them honestly so the choice is yours.
Why timing matters
Coverage is priced on your age and health, so it is generally cheaper and easier to qualify in your 50s or early 60s. A new health diagnosis can take options off the table entirely. That is why this is worth talking through well before care is on the horizon.
Long-term care: common questions
Does Medicare pay for a nursing home?
Only briefly, and only for skilled care. After a qualifying three-day hospital stay, Medicare can cover up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility, fully for the first 20 days and with a daily coinsurance after that. It does not pay for the ongoing personal care most people need as they age.
How much does long-term care cost?
In 2024, national median costs ran about $70,800 a year for assisted living, around $77,800 for an in-home aide, and $111,000 to $128,000 for a nursing home (Genworth, 2024). Costs vary by area and rise over time. We will look at Toledo-area figures with you.
When should I plan for it?
Usually in your 50s or early 60s. Coverage is priced on your age and health, so it's generally cheaper and easier to qualify the earlier and healthier you are. Waiting can mean a higher cost or being turned down.
What is the difference between LTC insurance and a hybrid policy?
Traditional long-term care insurance is a standalone policy that pays only if you need care, and its premiums can rise over time. A hybrid policy combines life insurance or an annuity with a care benefit. Premiums are usually fixed, and if you never need care, a death benefit goes to your family.
What if I never need care?
With traditional coverage, the premiums you paid generally aren't returned. A hybrid policy is built for that worry: if the care benefit goes unused, it pays a death benefit to your beneficiaries instead.
Doesn't my health insurance cover this?
No. Health insurance and Medicare are built for medical treatment and short-term recovery, not for years of help with daily living. That is the gap long-term care planning fills.
Will I lose my house?
Medicaid only helps after you've spent down most of your savings, and the rules around the home are complex and specific to Ohio. Planning ahead with insurance or earmarked savings is how families avoid draining what they've built.
This page is general information, not individual financial, tax, or legal advice. Figures and rules change over time. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer.
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