California long-term care insurance: cost & coverage

Who regulates long-term care insurance in California

Long-term care insurance policies sold in California are regulated by the California Department of Insurance. If you have a complaint about an agent, carrier, or policy, you can file it with the regulator directly.

What long-term care costs in California

Median assisted living cost in California vs. the national median:

Source: SeniorLiving.org median assisted living costs, 2026. See costs for all 50 states for the full table.

What each type of care costs in California

Assisted living is only one of the settings people use. Median monthly costs across the main care types in California:

Source: SeniorLiving.org Cost of Care Research (2026)

California's LTC Partnership program

California has an active LTC Partnership program. The California Partnership for Long-Term Care (administered by the Dept. of Health Care Services) provides Medi-Cal asset protection for holders of qualified policies; currently, no Partnership-approved insurance company is selling new policies in California.

A Partnership-qualified policy lets you keep an extra dollar of assets, protected from Medicaid spend-down, for every dollar your policy pays out in benefits — see the note above for this state's current status. Learn more about how Partnership programs work.

How California treats LTC premiums at tax time

California does not give long-term care insurance a break of its own. There is no California deduction and no California credit for LTC premiums; the Franchise Tax Board's list of personal credits runs from the Earned Income Tax Credit to the Senior Head of Household Credit and contains nothing for long-term care. What California does allow is the ordinary medical and dental expense deduction. On Schedule CA (540) you may deduct medical expenses above 7.5 percent of your federal AGI — the same threshold the IRS uses — and under federal law premiums on a tax-qualified long-term care policy count toward that total within the IRS's age-based limits. California's standard deduction is much lower than the federal one, so itemizing on the state return is worth checking even if you take the standard deduction federally.

Source: California Franchise Tax Board (2025)

This is general information, not tax advice. Confirm your own situation with a tax professional licensed in California.

Medicaid long-term care in California

California's Medicaid program is Medi-Cal, run by the Department of Health Care Services, and its asset test is back. Medi-Cal began counting assets again on January 1, 2026 for people 65 and older, people with disabilities and people living in a nursing home. Through June 30, 2027 one person may keep $130,000 in countable assets, plus $65,000 for each additional household member who counts toward family size (adult children living with you do not); from July 1, 2027 the limit drops to $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for two. Your main vehicle and the home you live in do not count. If you enter a nursing home, your home stays exempt only while you plan to return or a spouse, partner or dependent relative lives there, and Medi-Cal now looks back 30 months at assets you gave away, and only transfers made on or after January 1, 2026 can trigger a penalty.

Source: California Department of Health Care Services (2026)

Other California long-term care programs

• Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP). Before you buy, California will help you read the policy for free. The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), run by the California Department of Aging through local offices you look up by county, gives free, confidential one-on-one counseling on Medicare and long-term care insurance — including planning ahead for long-term care and reviewing coverage you are considering. That one-on-one counseling is for people who are already eligible for Medicare or soon will be; HICAP's education events are open to any age. The program also provides legal assistance or referrals on Medicare or long-term care insurance issues. Reach a HICAP office at 1-800-434-0222 or through the Department of Aging's county lookup.

How to compare quotes in California

• Confirm any agent or carrier you talk to is currently licensed to sell in California — the California Department of Insurance can confirm licensing status.
• Ask which products a carrier is actively writing in California today — availability changes state by state and year to year. See carriers we compare.
• If a Partnership-qualified policy matters to you, confirm with the carrier or agent whether a policy is currently certified as Partnership-qualified in California — see this state's Partnership status above.
• Compare traditional and hybrid options side by side — see traditional vs. hybrid coverage.
• Get quotes from more than one carrier; pricing for the same coverage can vary significantly.

Please note: Regulator names, complaint channels, and Partnership-program status can change. Confirm current details with the California Department of Insurance or a licensed agent before making any decision. LongTermCareInsurance411 is not a government agency and does not administer California's insurance regulations or Medicaid program.

Last updated: August 22, 2026