The matter of long-term care is a pressing concern for members of the elder law community. Most senior citizens will need help with their activities of daily living, and more than one-third of elders will require nursing home care.
A lot of people are not too concerned because they know that they will qualify for Medicare when they are 65. They assume that Medicare will pay for long-term care since it is a health insurance program for seniors, and most of these folks will need living assistance.
In fact, Medicare will not pay for a stay in a nursing home. In addition, it does not cover care that is provided by a professional in-home health aide.
Costs Are High and Rising
Genworth Financial sells financial products for senior citizens. Since this is their demographic, they keep close tabs on the current state of long-term care costs around the country.
According to their research, the median annual charge for a private room in a nursing home in Oklahoma City is $96,995 in 2024.
They are now projecting costs into the future based on the data they have compiled. If you enter a private room in an Oklahoma City nursing home 20 years from now, you should be looking at a price tag of about $175,000 per year.
What’s the Solution?
Fortunately, there is a solution in the form of the Medicaid program because it will pay for custodial care. Since it is a need-based benefit, there is a $2,000 limit on countable assets.
The term “countable” is operative because some property is exempt, including your home. However, there is a $788,000 equity limit in 2025.
These are the other non-countable assets:
- One motor vehicle used for transportation
- Wedding and engagement rings
- Heirloom jewelry
- Household items
- Personal effects
- $1,500 worth of whole life insurance
- $1,500 in cash saved for final expenses
- Unlimited term life insurance
You can convey countable assets into an irrevocable trust and after the 60-month lookback period gain eligibility for Medicaid to pay for long-term care. Until and unless you apply, you could receive income that is generated by assets in the trust, but you would have no access to the principal.
Again, the assets in the trust would not be “countable” assets as long as you fund them into the trust at least 60 months prior to your application submission.
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We update this blog frequently, so you should come back to visit us to learn more about these important and timely estate planning and elder care topics. In addition to the blog, there are other written materials on this website that you can tap into free of charge.
One of them is our estate planning worksheet. This resource has been carefully prepared to provide you with a more comprehensive understanding of the process, and it is offered free of charge.
To get your copy, visit our worksheet access page and follow the simple instructions.
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Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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