Know the Number: What a Year of Care Really Costs
In one free 30‑minute Family Care Plan Review, a licensed long-term care specialist shows you what care costs where you live, how much of it you could pay yourself, and how traditional, hybrid, and annuity-based coverage compare for your age, health, and budget.
And you’ll see why $250,000 in savings covered only 2.8 years of care in 2025, down from 3.8 years in 2020.1
Claim my free 30-minute reviewFree. No obligation. A licensed professional responds within 1 business day.
- 45+ years in long-term care insurance
- CLTC® & LTCP designations
- Genworth BGA partner, 2000–2016
- Florida DFS approved CE instructor
Most families plan for care with a number that’s years out of date
Ask most people what a nursing home costs and you’ll hear a figure they saw years ago, or a guess.
The real numbers keep climbing. In 2025, the national median for a private nursing home room reached $129,575 a year, and assisted living reached $74,400.2
You can’t plan for a cost you’ve never looked up.
In Florida, nursing home care costs even more: $146,000 a year for a private room and $124,100 for a semi-private room.3 A new year is the natural time to update your number, and your plan.
What care cost in 2025, nationally and in Florida
Annual median costs from the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey:
Four ways families underestimate the cost of care
- “Medicare will cover it.” Medicare pays for short-term skilled care after a hospital stay, not ongoing help with bathing, dressing, or eating.4 See what Medicare covers.
- “Our savings will stretch.” In 2025, $250,000 covered only about 2.8 years of care.1
- “Care at home is the cheap option.” A caregiver 44 hours a week costs about $80,080 a year at the national median,2 and many people need more hours than that over time.
- “Prices won’t change much.” Assisted living rose 5% in a single year, to $6,200 a month at the national median.2
Knowing the number is step one. Step two is deciding how much of it you want to pay yourself and how much to hand to an insurer. See costs by care type.
The Three-Path Comparison: every type of coverage, side by side, in one conversation
Instead of one product from one company, your Family Care Plan Review looks at all three ways to pay for care. We compare them across insurers for your age, health, and budget, then show you the trade-offs in plain English.
Path 1: Traditional long-term care insurance
Medically underwritten coverage that pays a daily or monthly benefit once you need help with daily activities.
Often the most coverage for the premium for healthy applicants 45 to 65.
How it’s underwritten →Path 2: Hybrid (asset-based) coverage
Life insurance with a long-term care benefit. If you never need care, the death benefit still goes to your family.
Popular with couples who want their money to work either way.
How it’s underwritten →Path 3: Annuity care
A deferred annuity paired with long-term care benefits that can be larger than the deposit, often funded from existing savings.
An option to explore when health makes other coverage harder to get.
How it’s underwritten →More than four decades of helping families plan for care
George A. Mellendorf founded Central States Insurance Services in Ft. Myers in 1981. It grew into a national long-term care insurance brokerage, and from 2000 to 2016 it served as a Brokerage General Agent for Genworth, at the time one of the largest long-term care insurers in the country.
- CLTC (Certified in Long-Term Care) and LTCP (Long-Term Care Professional) designations
- Approved continuing-education instructor on the Florida Department of Financial Services registry (Instructor ID #737925), teaching other licensed agents
- Florida licensed insurance agent, License # A175981. Verify the license
“When I first started in the ‘nursing home insurance’ business in 1981, the average age was 74. Today we are down to the mid-50s and early 60s.”
George A. Mellendorf · Read his story
Thirty minutes from now, you could know exactly where you stand
- Peace of mind for your children. A plan that keeps them in the role of family, not full-time caregiver.
- A clear answer to “what would it cost us?” Real numbers for your age and health, not a generic rate sheet.
- Confidence you didn’t overpay. In 2026, the highest price for virtually identical coverage was 56% above the lowest.5 Comparing is how you avoid that gap.
- Your savings and home protected from being drained by years of care costs.
- Choices about where you get care, at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home.
- A decision made calmly, on your schedule, instead of in a hospital hallway after a diagnosis.
Your free Family Care Plan Review
A 30-minute conversation with a licensed long-term care specialist. Even if you never buy a policy, you’ll leave knowing your options, what they cost, and what to ask.
- The review
Your Three-Path Comparison
Traditional, hybrid, and annuity-based coverage compared across insurers for your age, health, and budget, with the trade-offs explained in plain English.
Bonus 1Long-Term Care Insurance Buyer’s Guide
The three coverage types, the riders worth paying for, how underwriting sets your rate, and how to compare quotes side by side.
Bonus 2LTC Policy Checklist & Financial Workbook
Fill it in before your review so you know your budget, your assets, and the questions to ask.
Bonus 3Long-Term Care Tax Guide
How long-term care premiums may be tax-deductible, so you can factor that into the real cost.
No cost and no obligation to buy anything.
Your health today sets your options tomorrow
Long-term care insurance is medically underwritten. Insurers look at your age and health on the day you apply.
That means the best time to compare is while you’re healthy. A new diagnosis, a fall, or a change in medications can raise the price or rule out some options entirely, and every birthday moves you into an older rate band.
A new year is a good reason to stop guessing. The review takes 30 minutes; waiting can cost far more.
Free to compare. Free to say no. Protected if you say yes.
The review costs nothing, and you’re never under any obligation to buy.
If you do choose a policy, Florida law gives individual long-term care insurance policyholders 30 days after delivery to review it and return it for a full premium refund, for any reason.6
Four simple steps, and you’re in control at every one
- Send the short formName, contact details, and a few quick questions. About two minutes.
- We call to scheduleA licensed specialist contacts you within 1 business day to pick a time that works.
- Your 30-minute reviewBy phone. We go over your goals, health, and budget, and compare all three paths.
- You decideTake the side-by-side comparison home, talk it over with family, and choose, or don’t.
Prefer to talk now? Call (239) 218-7309.
Before you request your review
Is the review really free? What’s the catch?
Yes, it’s free and there’s no obligation. You’ll get a side-by-side comparison you can keep, whether or not you buy anything.
Will I be pressured to buy?
No. The goal of the review is for you to understand your options. Many people take the comparison home and talk it over with their family first.
Where do your cost figures come from?
From the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, which reports median costs by region based on prices reported by care providers.2 What you pay depends on where you live and the care you need.
How much long-term care coverage do I need?
It depends on where you’d want care, how much you could pay from income and savings, and what you want to protect. Your review works through those numbers with you instead of starting from a generic amount.
Doesn’t Medicare already pay for long-term care?
Mostly no. Medicare pays for short-term skilled care after a hospital stay, not ongoing help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, and eating.4 See what Medicare does and doesn’t cover.
What does long-term care insurance cost?
It depends on your age, health, and the benefits you choose. As one benchmark, in 2026 a couple both age 55 paid an average of about $5,010 a year combined for $165,000 in initial benefits each.5 Your review shows real numbers for you.
What if I pay premiums for years and never need care?
That’s the main reason people look at hybrid coverage: if care is never needed, a death benefit goes to your beneficiaries. We’ll show you how that trade-off compares with traditional coverage.
Is Funding LTC Marketplace an insurance company?
No. We’re a marketplace and advisory service operated by Central States Insurance Services, Inc. We compare coverage from insurers; the insurer issues the policy and makes the underwriting decision.
Can my adult children join the call?
Yes, and many families find that helpful. Just let us know when we schedule.
P.S.
P.S. Here’s the short version. In one free 30-minute Family Care Plan Review, a licensed specialist compares traditional, hybrid, and annuity-based coverage side by side for you, and you get three free planning guides.
If you do nothing, the number still arrives. It just arrives later, as a bill. Start this year knowing your number and your options.
Sources
- Forbes Advisor: Long-term care is getting more expensive (CareScout data)
- CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey
- CareScout: 2025 Cost of Care Data for Florida
- Medicare.gov: Long-term care coverage
- AALTCI 2026 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index
- Florida Department of Financial Services: Long-Term Care Overview (30-day free look)
Funding LTC Marketplace is operated by Central States Insurance Services, Inc., Ft. Myers, FL. George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, Florida licensed insurance agent, License # A175981, NPN # 538220. Verify at licenseesearch.fldfs.com/Licensee/211790. This is not an offer of insurance. Coverage, rates, and eligibility are determined by the issuing carrier through underwriting. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Educational content only, not medical, legal, tax, or financial advice.