---
title: "Illinois Long-Term Care Planning | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/illinois/long-term-care-planning/
description: "Illinois LTC planning: spend-down, the 60-month look-back, conflicting resource figures, trusts, probate-only estate recovery and Partnership insurance."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
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.
---
Illinois · Planning Ahead

# Illinois Long-Term Care Planning

Last updated 2026-10-20

**Quick answer:** Illinois planning starts with conflicting state figures: asset limits of $2,000 (HFS) or $17,500 (Department on Aging), and a community-spouse allowance of $143,172 or $162,660. A plan also has to cover the 60-month look-back, trusts, probate-only estate recovery and Partnership insurance.

Anyone planning around Illinois Medicaid has to grapple with two unresolved resource conflicts right from the start. HFS's general benefits page lists countable-asset limits of $2,000 for a single applicant and $3,000 for a married applicant household, while the Department on Aging's 2026 long-term-care materials list $17,500 instead.

The confusion doesn't stop there. HFS's January 2026 provider notice lists a $143,172 community spouse resource allowance (CSRA), but the Department on Aging's flyer lists $162,660 for the same figure. Neither number should be treated as final for planning purposes without confirming it against a caseworker or IDHS WAG 25-03-02 first.

Beyond the resource-figure conflicts, a solid Illinois plan also has to account for the 60-month transfer review, trust strategies, the state's probate-only estate recovery approach, and how a Partnership long-term-care insurance policy might factor into the overall picture.

## Illinois figures

- CSRA — HFS figure: $143,172
- CSRA — Department on Aging figure: $162,660

## Sources and official resources

- [Illinois HFS: Long Term Care](https://hfs.illinois.gov/medicalclients/ltc.html)
- [CMS: 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/cib04272026.pdf)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full Illinois guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/illinois/)