Illinois Long Term Care Insurance
Illinois long-term care insurance: costs, the Illinois Partnership Program, Medicaid LTSS, and 2025 federal tax rules.
A year of nursing-facility care in Illinois routinely runs into the six figures, and Medicare does not pay for the extended custodial care most older adults eventually need. The financial gap that creates is what long-term care insurance — and the Illinois Long-Term Care Partnership Program — exists to close.
Illinois is one of the larger and older states in the Midwest, with the 65-and-older share of the population growing steadily as the baby-boom cohort ages. State agencies, including the Illinois Department on Aging, project continued growth in the oldest age bands through the next decade, which is already pushing demand for nursing-facility beds, supportive living, and in-home services across Cook County and downstate alike.
What Long-Term Care Costs in Illinois
Data as of April 2026.
Illinois does not publish a single retail price list for long-term care, but a few anchors frame the planning problem:
- Private-pay nursing-facility rates in Illinois generally sit well above the Medicaid per-diem the state reimburses, because private pay effectively cross-subsidizes the Medicaid shortfall in many facilities.
- Supportive Living Program (SLP) facilities — Illinois's Medicaid-funded assisted-living model — operate under state-set rates, while private-pay assisted living and memory care vary widely by county and care level. The Chicago metro generally prices higher than downstate.
- Home health aide and personal care hours cost less per month than 24-hour facility care, but Medicare only covers limited skilled home health after a hospital stay, not ongoing custodial help.
For facility-specific current pricing, Medicare's Nursing Home Compare tool and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services consumer pages are the most reliable starting points. We use ranges to design a policy, not to quote one.
Paying for Long-Term Care in Illinois
Most Illinois families pay for long-term care through some mix of personal savings, unpaid family caregiving, long-term care insurance, and — for those who qualify financially — Illinois Medicaid. Medicaid long-term services and supports in Illinois are administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which oversees nursing-facility coverage, the Supportive Living Program, and several Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers (including the Persons Who Are Elderly waiver delivered through the Department on Aging's Community Care Program).
Financial eligibility for Illinois Medicaid long-term care follows the federal framework: countable assets must fall within program limits, and Illinois applies the standard federal spousal-impoverishment protections for a community spouse along with the federal five-year look-back on asset transfers. The home is generally non-countable while a spouse or dependent lives there, subject to federal home-equity limits. Adults aged 60 and older can also be screened for the Community Care Program through the Department on Aging and its local Care Coordination Units, which is the on-ramp many Illinois families use before institutional care becomes necessary.
Partnership program. Illinois operates an active federally-certified Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership, in effect since 2007 and overseen jointly by HFS and the Illinois Department of Insurance. A qualifying Partnership policy provides a dollar-for-dollar Medicaid asset disregard equal to the benefits paid out by the policy: an Illinois resident who uses, say, $300,000 in qualifying Partnership benefits can keep an additional $300,000 in countable assets and still qualify for Medicaid if benefits are exhausted. Partnership policies must be federally tax-qualified and must include age-appropriate inflation protection tied to the applicant's age at purchase; a Guaranteed Purchase Option alone does not satisfy that requirement for younger buyers.
Long-Term Care Insurance Options for Illinois Residents
The Illinois LTC insurance shelf has thinned over the past decade. Several household names — including Genworth, John Hancock, MetLife, Prudential, Transamerica, and MassMutual — no longer issue new traditional individual long-term care policies in Illinois or nationally. What remains is a smaller set of standalone traditional carriers and a growing shelf of hybrid life-insurance and annuity products with LTC riders.
For the current list of carriers authorized to sell long-term care insurance in Illinois — and which products are certified for Partnership asset protection — consult the Illinois Department of Insurance company and product search. Working with a broker who quotes multiple carriers is the fastest way to see what is actually filed and priced in Illinois today.
What Drives Your Illinois LTC Premium
Because Illinois private-pay nursing-facility rates sit well above Medicaid reimbursement, the monthly benefit amount you choose is the single biggest lever on premium. Beyond that:
- Age at application — younger applicants lock in materially lower premiums.
- Health rating from underwriting.
- Monthly benefit amount and total benefit pool.
- Inflation protection design (compound, simple, or none) — and Partnership qualification in Illinois requires specific inflation terms tied to age at purchase.
- Marital or partner discount when both applicants qualify.
- Traditional standalone versus hybrid (life- or annuity-based) structure.
Use the quote form on this page to compare Illinois-specific numbers from multiple carriers side by side.
Tax Benefits for Illinois Residents
State tax treatment. Illinois levies a flat individual income tax. The state has not historically offered a dedicated subtraction or credit for individual long-term care insurance premiums on the IL-1040, but tax provisions can change year to year — confirm current-year treatment with the Illinois Department of Revenue or your tax preparer before filing.
Federal treatment. The IRS publishes annual age-banded limits on the amount of qualified LTC insurance premium that counts as a medical expense. For tax year 2025, per IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40, Section 3.24:
| Age at End of Tax Year | 2025 Eligible Premium Limit |
|---|---|
| 40 or under | $480 |
| 41 through 50 | $900 |
| 51 through 60 | $1,800 |
| 61 through 70 | $4,810 |
| 71 and older | $6,020 |
Use the Partnership While You Qualify
Because Illinois operates an active Partnership Program with a dollar-for-dollar Medicaid asset disregard, buying a qualifying policy before your health changes is the fastest way to lock in both private coverage and the asset protection that comes with it. Use the quote form above to compare Illinois-authorized, Partnership-eligible carriers and benefit designs in one place.
Disclaimer
This page is educational and general in nature, not a solicitation or offer of a specific insurance product, and not tax or legal advice. Long-term care insurance availability, pricing, and underwriting vary by carrier, state, and applicant. For personalized guidance, contact a licensed specialist. For current authorized carriers in Illinois, consult the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Illinois Long Term Care Insurance FAQs
How much does long term care insurance cost in Illinois?
Premiums in Illinois depend on age at application, health, benefit amount, and inflation protection. Most Illinois residents pay between $1,500 and $4,500 per year for a comprehensive policy, and the cost is locked in when you apply. Applying earlier and in better health typically results in the lowest Illinois LTC insurance rates.
Does Illinois have a Long Term Care Partnership program?
Most states including Illinois participate in the federal/state Long Term Care Partnership program. A Partnership-qualified policy in Illinois lets you protect assets equal to the benefits your policy pays out if you ever need to apply for Medicaid, on top of the usual Medicaid asset limits. Ask your specialist whether a given carrier's policy is Partnership-certified in Illinois.
What does long term care insurance cover in Illinois?
A Illinois long term care policy typically reimburses the cost of care you receive when you cannot perform at least two activities of daily living, or when you have a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's. Covered care settings generally include home health care, adult daycare, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing facilities located in Illinois or anywhere in the U.S.
When should I buy long term care insurance in Illinois?
Most Illinois residents who buy LTC insurance do so in their mid-50s to mid-60s, before rates rise sharply and before health conditions make coverage harder to qualify for. Buying earlier locks in lower premiums for life, while waiting risks higher costs or being declined outright.
Is long term care insurance tax deductible in Illinois?
Yes — premiums for qualified long term care insurance policies are deductible as medical expenses on your federal return, up to IRS age-based limits that are indexed annually. Illinois may offer additional state tax credits or deductions for LTC premiums; your LTC Tree specialist can confirm the current rules that apply to residents of Illinois.
Which carriers offer long term care insurance in Illinois?
LTC Tree is an independent broker and shops every major carrier licensed in Illinois, including Mutual of Omaha, Nationwide, Securian, National Guardian Life, OneAmerica, Thrivent, Lincoln Financial, and others. Each Illinois applicant's situation is different — we run rates across carriers and present the best fit for your age, health, and budget.