What Long-Term Care Costs in Indiana, and How Hoosier Families Plan to Pay for It

Long-term care is the part of retirement planning that most families put off, because it is uncomfortable and the numbers are hard to find. This puts the Indiana numbers in one place: what care costs today, how those costs could grow, how care is paid for in Indiana, and the questions worth answering before a need arises.

Everything here is specific to Indiana. Cost figures are Indiana medians from the most recent CareScout Cost of Care Survey (2025), and the program rules come from Indiana’s Long-Term Care Program and Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).

What care costs in Indiana today

Monthly and annual Indiana median costs, CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025.

What the numbers include

• Home care. A non-medical caregiver for 44 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, at the Indiana median of $35 an hour. Family caregiving, a caregiver’s lost income, and out-of-pocket costs are not included.
• Assisted living. Twelve months in a private, one-bedroom unit. Services beyond the base rate can raise the monthly cost.
• Nursing home. The median daily rate for a semi-private or private room, annualized and divided by 12.
• Adult day health care. Five days a week. A lower-cost option that can support a family caregiver.

How costs could grow

Costs rise over time. Applying a steady 4% annual growth rate to today’s medians shows what the same care could cost in 2036 and 2046. These are hypothetical illustrations, not forecasts.

Private-room nursing home care, at $10,326 a month today, would be about $23,531 a month in 2046 at that growth rate.

What Medicare does and does not cover

Medicare is health insurance, not long-term care insurance. It generally does not pay for custodial care, which is help with bathing, dressing, eating, and other daily activities, whether at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home.

What Medicare does cover is limited skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying hospital stay. In 2026, Medicare pays the full cost for days 1 through 20, then the patient pays $217 a day for days 21 through 100, and nothing after day 100. Medicare supplement policies generally follow Medicare’s coverage rules.

Indiana Medicaid and PathWays for Aging

Indiana Medicaid can pay for long-term care when a person has limited income and assets and needs a nursing-home level of care. Since July 1, 2024, Hoosiers 60 and older receive Medicaid long-term services through Indiana PathWays for Aging, a managed care program that covers nursing facility care and home and community-based services. People 59 and younger use the Health and Wellness Waiver.

The rules are strict, they change every year, and they should be confirmed with FSSA or an elder law attorney. These are the main 2026 figures.

Two cautions. First, transfers made within the five-year look-back period can cause a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay. Second, after death Indiana may seek repayment of long-term care costs from the remaining estate, which is often the home. Medicaid is a safety net, and using it generally means spending down savings first and accepting its choices of provider and setting.

The Indiana Long-Term Care Partnership

Indiana was one of the first states to create a Long-Term Care Partnership, now called the Indiana Long-Term Care Program. It connects private long-term care insurance with Medicaid: a person who buys a qualifying policy and uses its benefits can protect assets when later applying for Medicaid.

For every $1 of benefits the policy pays, at least $1 of assets is disregarded when determining Medicaid eligibility. A buyer who purchases coverage at or above the state-set amount for the year earns total asset protection once the policy benefits are used up. In 2026 that amount is $548,820. A buyer who purchases less earns dollar-for-dollar protection. Protected assets are disregarded, but income is not.

To confirm that a policy is a Partnership policy, look for the bolded statement in the outline of coverage, application, or front page that it qualifies under the Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program for Medicaid asset protection.

Tax treatment

Premiums for a federally tax-qualified long-term care policy may also be deductible on the federal return, within age-based limits and subject to the usual medical expense rules. The 2026 limits are $500 (age 40 and under), $930 (41 to 50), $1,860 (51 to 60), $4,960 (61 to 70), and $6,200 (over 70). Self-employed taxpayers may be able to deduct premiums more directly. Because the Indiana deduction is reduced by any federal deduction taken for the same premiums, a tax advisor should confirm how both apply.

Ways Indiana families plan to pay for care

A closer look at hybrid coverage versus a traditional policy is in hybrid versus traditional long-term care insurance.

Questions to answer before a need arises

• Where would I want care, at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home, and what would each cost in my part of Indiana?
• Who would help? Can family provide care, and what would it cost them?
• How would I pay for the first year of care, and for year five?
• Is my plan inflation-aware? Care costs rise over time, and a plan has to keep pace.
• If I own or buy a policy, does it qualify under the Indiana Partnership, and how does the benefit work if I move?
• Who else should be involved, such as my spouse, my children, an elder law attorney, and a tax advisor?

A simple planning timeline

Key terms

Where to get help in Indiana

• Indiana Long-Term Care Program. Partnership policies, annual figures, tax information, and consumer guides.
• FSSA Division of Aging. Medicaid long-term care programs and PathWays for Aging.
• Indiana Department of Insurance. Insurer licensing, consumer complaints, and policy questions.
• Area Agencies on Aging, through FSSA. Local help finding services and options for older Hoosiers.

If you would like to talk through what these Indiana numbers could mean for your family’s plan, that conversation is complimentary and carries no obligation. Call 317-900-6970 or start a conversation.

About the Author

Ted Byrer, CAS®, is a Retirement Income Specialist and Independent Insurance Agent with Byrer Wealth Management, LLC in Westfield, Indiana. Learn more at Ted Byrer.

Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 (Indiana medians, data collected July through November 2025); Indiana Long-Term Care Program, 2026 Annual Figures and Partnership program information (in.gov/iltcp); Indiana FSSA PathWays for Aging materials; Indiana Code 6-3-1-3.5(a)(16); published Indiana Medicaid figures for 2026 (income limit, home equity limit, and look-back period), which change annually. Educational only; not legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy any product. The 2036 and 2046 figures were calculated by Byrer Wealth Management by applying a 4% annual growth rate to the 2025 medians. They are hypothetical illustrations, not survey results or projections, and actual costs will vary, sometimes significantly. Medicaid, Medicare, and tax figures are for 2026 and change; confirm them with the responsible agency, an elder law attorney, or a tax advisor. Ted Byrer is a licensed insurance professional, not an attorney or tax advisor. Annuities are not a deposit, are not insured by the FDIC or any government agency, and may lose value; guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer.