But first, you need to know some of the facts. Many people mistakenly assume Medicare will cover their nursing home needs. Medicare supplement policies only cover co-payments for 80 days. But you must spend down most of your assets and apply almost all of your income before Medicaid will pick up the nursing home bills. You can't simply transfer assets to your children or a trust to qualify for Medicaid.
Strict rules apply regarding transfer of assets within three years of entering a nursing home.
And a Medicaid nursing home might not be your long-term care alternative of choice. So it's worth taking a look at a basic long-term care policy. But there are a lot of variables in the process, and each can affect the annual cost of your policy. The younger you are when you purchase the policy, the lower the annual cost. If you're in good health and a nonsmoker, you'll pay less for a long-term care policy.