--- title: "Long-Term Care Insurance in 2026: What's Changed" url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/ description: "2026 LTC insurance update from George Mellendorf, CLTC: premiums near $950/yr at age 55, a record $114,975 nursing home median, and SECURE 2.0's new LTC rule." author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.) publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above. --- Industry Update · Coverage Types · Tax Rules # Long-Term Care Insurance in 2026: What's Changed and What It Means for Your Plan New pricing data, a wider SECURE 2.0 tax break, and record nursing-home costs all moved in 2026 — here's what actually affects a family deciding whether, and how, to fund long-term care. By George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, President, Central States Insurance Services, Inc. · September 15, 2026 Every year I tell clients the same thing: don't wait for a "good time" to look at long-term care coverage, because the numbers rarely move in your favor while you wait. 2026 is a clear example. New industry pricing data, a wider federal tax break, and another record year for care costs all landed in the same twelve months — and together they change the math for anyone weighing whether, and how, to fund long-term care. Here's what actually shifted this year, and what it means if you're evaluating coverage now. ## What a policy costs in 2026 The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance's 2026 Price Index puts the numbers in plain terms.[1](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-1) A single 55-year-old man in good health can lock in $165,000 of initial benefits for around $950 a year on a level-benefit design; the same policy with 3% compound benefit growth runs closer to $2,200. Women pay more for identical coverage — a healthy 55-year-old woman is closer to $1,500 for the level design and $3,750 with 3% growth — because women file long-term care claims more often and for longer. A married couple, both 55 and both healthy, can secure $165,000 in benefits apiece for a combined $2,080 to $5,050 a year depending on the growth option, and that couple discount is one of the more overlooked ways to control premium. Wait and the picture changes fast. A single 60-year-old woman buying $165,000 in initial benefits averages about $4,450 a year on her own, and a couple who wait until 65 to buy $165,000 each with 3% compound growth is looking at roughly $7,030 combined.[1](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-1) The lesson isn't "buy today no matter what" — it's that age and health at application, not the calendar year, are what set your price, and both only move in one direction. ## Care itself got more expensive again The 2025 Cost of Care Survey from CareScout (Genworth's long-term care research arm) confirms the other side of the equation: care isn't getting cheaper while you wait to insure against it.[2](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-2) A semi-private nursing home room now carries a national median of $315 a day — $114,975 a year — and a private room runs $355 a day, or roughly $129,575 annually. Assisted living rose 5% year over year to a national median of $6,200 a month, or $74,400 a year. Even non-medical home care, often assumed to be the "affordable" option, now has a national median of $35 an hour; at 44 hours a week that's over $80,000 a year.[2](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-2) CareScout's Florida data shows statewide medians cutting both ways. A private nursing home room runs $146,000 a year, above the national median, while assisted living ($66,000 a year) and 44-hour-a-week in-home care ($73,216 a year) run below it, and costs in individual Florida markets can differ from all of these. Put the two data sets side by side and the purpose of a policy comes into focus: a properly structured plan is designed to convert a five- or six-figure annual expense into a fixed, budgetable premium, ideally locked in before health changes take that choice away entirely. ## The tax rules got more useful, not less Two changes are worth flagging for anyone doing the math on after-tax cost. First, the IRS raised the 2026 eligible long-term care premium deduction limits under Revenue Procedure 2025-32, so more of what you pay in premium can count toward deductible medical expenses if you itemize and clear the 7.5%-of-AGI threshold.[3](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-3) Second, and more significant for retirement savers, SECURE 2.0 opened a new penalty-free early distribution from retirement accounts specifically for buying long-term care insurance, and the IRS issued Notice 2026-33 this year with detailed guidance on how those "qualified long-term care distributions" work in practice.[4](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-4)[5](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/blog/long-term-care-insurance-2026-whats-changed/#source-5) That provision matters most for clients whose liquid savings sit mostly inside a 401(k) or IRA rather than a brokerage account — it opens a funding source that wasn't available a few years ago without a 10% early-withdrawal penalty. We've broken both of these down in detail in our free guides — the [Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/consumer-guides.html) covers the premium deduction limits and benefit taxation rules, and our guide to the [1035 tax-free exchange](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/consumer-guides.html) walks through how existing life insurance or annuity value can move into LTC coverage without triggering a taxable event. ## What this means for your plan None of this changes the fundamentals of good planning — it just raises the stakes on timing. If you're in your mid-50s and in reasonably good health, 2026 pricing still reflects a genuinely different world than what's available at 65. If you already own a policy, it's worth a checkup: premium limits, tax rules, and even carrier pricing tiers shift most years, and a policy bought five or ten years ago may not reflect what's available or advisable today. And if a retirement account is your main source of savings, the SECURE 2.0 distribution option is worth a specific conversation before you assume it isn't relevant to you. None of this is a substitute for a conversation about your specific health, age, and family situation — but it's a good reason not to let 2026 pass without at least running the numbers. ## 2026 at a glance - Level-benefit premium, healthy single male, age 55: ~$950/yr - Level-benefit premium, healthy single female, age 55: ~$1,500/yr - Combined premium, healthy couple, both 55: ~$2,080\u2013$5,050/yr - National median nursing home (semi-private), annual: $114,975 - National median assisted living, annual: $74,400 - National median home care (44 hrs/week), annual: $80,080+ ## Sources 1. American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, 2026 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index — [aaltci.org/2026-AALTCI-Long-Term-Care-Insurance-Price-Index](https://www.aaltci.org/2026-AALTCI-Long-Term-Care-Insurance-Price-Index/) 2. CareScout / Genworth, 2025 Cost of Care Survey Results (released March 2, 2026) — [investor.genworth.com](https://investor.genworth.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1054/carescout-releases-2025-cost-of-care-survey-results) 3. IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, eligible long-term care premium limits for tax years beginning in 2026 — [irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf) 4. Ascensus, SECURE 2.0 Can Assist with Long-Term Care Insurance — [thelink.ascensus.com](https://thelink.ascensus.com/articles/2026/1/13/secure-20-can-assist-with-long-term-care-insurance) 5. Current Federal Tax Developments, Demystifying Notice 2026-33: Guidance on Qualified Long-Term Care Distributions Under SECURE 2.0 — [currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com](https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/blog/2026/5/20/demystifying-notice-2026-33-comprehensive-guidance-on-qualified-long-term-care-distributions-under-the-secure-20-act)