Hawaii long-term care insurance: cost & coverage

Who regulates long-term care insurance in Hawaii

Long-term care insurance policies sold in Hawaii are regulated by the Hawaii Insurance Division (Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs). 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 Hawaii

Median assisted living cost in Hawaii 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 Hawaii

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

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

Hawaii's LTC Partnership program

Hawaii does not currently have an active LTC Partnership program. Hawaii is one of the small number of states with no LTC Partnership program (also Alaska, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Utah, Vermont, and D.C.); out-of-state Partnership asset protection is not honored here.

Without a Partnership-qualified policy, benefits paid out don't create extra Medicaid asset protection. Learn more about how Partnership programs work and which states currently have one.

How Hawaii treats LTC premiums at tax time

Hawaii does tax income, and it treats long-term care insurance the way the federal return does rather than offering a break of its own. If you itemize on Hawaii Form N-11, premiums for a qualified long-term care contract count as a medical expense, subject to the same age-based dollar limits the IRS publishes, and qualified long-term care services are deductible too. The catch is the floor: you deduct only the part of your medical costs above 7.5% of your Hawaii adjusted gross income, and Hawaii still caps total itemized deductions once Hawaii AGI passes $166,800 ($83,400 married filing separately). Hawaii offers no separate long-term care credit or subtraction.

Source: Hawaii Department of Taxation (2025)

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

Medicaid long-term care in Hawaii

Hawaii's Medicaid program is Med-QUEST, run by the state Department of Human Services, and since January 2015 nearly everyone — including people who need nursing-home care or long-term services and supports at home — is covered through a single managed-care program called QUEST Integration. The money tests are strict. Med-QUEST's 2026 standards allow an aged, blind or disabled applicant just $2,000 in countable assets, $3,000 for a couple, against a medically needy income level of $469 a month for one person. Hawaii looks back sixty months at assets given away or sold below value and imposes a penalty period if it finds any, and its rules bar long-term care coverage when home equity passes a threshold the rule sets at $750,000 and indexes upward every year.

Source: Hawaii Department of Human Services, Med-QUEST Division (2026)

Other Hawaii long-term care programs

• Kūpuna Care. Hawaii funds a long-term-care safety net outside Medicaid called Kūpuna Care, run by the state Department of Health's Executive Office on Aging and delivered through the four county Area Agencies on Aging. It pays for eight core services — adult day care, transportation, case management, attendant care, chore, homemaker, personal care and home-delivered meals — for Hawaii residents 60 and older who need help with two or more everyday activities, from bathing and dressing to cooking and managing medication. The limit that matters if you are weighing insurance is this: Kūpuna Care is only for people who do not qualify for Medicaid or a comparable program, and it is small, serving 5,520 people statewide in fiscal 2024.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Hawaii's Executive Office on Aging staffs a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman who investigates complaints about the care given in nursing homes, adult residential care homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care settings across Hawaii. The office is free, and it handles more than complaints: its own published list of services includes alternatives to nursing home placement, options for paying for long term care, choosing a nursing home, and what rights nursing home residents have. Call 586-7268 on Oahu.
• Hawaii SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Hawaii SHIP, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, is run by Hawaii's Executive Office on Aging and gives free one-to-one Medicare help to Hawaii residents, their families and their caregivers through trained, certified volunteer counselors. It is not long-term care coverage. What it is good for is the ground around a policy decision: its counselors explain what Medicare will and will not pay for, walk through Medigap and Medicare Advantage options, and point you to programs that help cover Medicare costs. Call 586-7299 on Oahu or 1-888-875-9229 toll-free.

How to compare quotes in Hawaii

• Confirm any agent or carrier you talk to is currently licensed to sell in Hawaii — the Hawaii Insurance Division (Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) can confirm licensing status.
• Ask which products a carrier is actively writing in Hawaii today — availability changes state by state and year to year. See carriers we compare.
• 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 Hawaii Insurance Division (Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) or a licensed agent before making any decision. LongTermCareInsurance411 is not a government agency and does not administer Hawaii's insurance regulations or Medicaid program.

Last updated: August 22, 2026