Maryland long-term care insurance: cost & coverage

Who regulates long-term care insurance in Maryland

Long-term care insurance policies sold in Maryland are regulated by the Maryland Insurance Administration. 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 Maryland

Median assisted living cost in Maryland 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 Maryland

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

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

Maryland's LTC Partnership program

Maryland has an active LTC Partnership program. Maryland's LTC Partnership Program, certified by the MIA, disregards assets dollar-for-dollar against benefits paid and protects those assets from Medicaid estate recovery.

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 Maryland treats LTC premiums at tax time

Maryland does reward long-term care insurance with a state income tax credit, but it is a one-time credit — for any given insured person it may be claimed in exactly one tax year, ever, by exactly one taxpayer. It sits in Part E of Maryland Form 502CR and equals the premiums you paid for yourself, a spouse, parent, stepparent, child or stepchild who is a Maryland resident, capped at $500 per insured, or $480 if that insured was 40 or younger on December 31, 2025. Nobody qualifies if the insured carried long-term care coverage at any time before July 1, 2000, if another taxpayer claims that insured this year, if anyone has ever claimed that insured in a prior year, or if the insured is a nonresident. The credit is nonrefundable and cannot be carried forward.

Source: Comptroller of Maryland, Maryland Form 502CR — Income Tax Credits for Individuals (2025)

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

Medicaid long-term care in Maryland

Maryland's Medicaid program is called Medical Assistance and is run by the Maryland Department of Health. For nursing-home care it uses the Aged, Blind or Disabled Long-Term Care coverage groups: countable resources may not exceed $2,500, and your available income is applied to the cost of your care with Medicaid covering the shortfall. Home and community-based care is handled separately — under the Community Options Waiver monthly income may not exceed 300 percent of the SSI benefit rate and countable assets are capped at $2,000 or $2,500 depending on the eligibility category. That waiver has a waiting list, and you get on it by calling Maryland Access Point at 844-627-5465.

Source: Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Medicaid, Guide to Maryland Medical Assistance Coverage Groups (2025)

Other Maryland long-term care programs

• Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. If you or a parent ends up in a Maryland nursing home or assisted living facility, the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is the free, confidential advocate you can call. The Maryland Department of Aging runs it, and the program's page lists a local ombudsman contact for all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City. Ombudsmen investigate complaints made by or on behalf of residents, educate residents and families about resident rights, and act only with the resident's consent. Its own 2025 figures: 3,978 complaints investigated and resolved, 7,252 visits to nursing homes and assisted living communities, and 86 percent of complaints resolved to the resident's satisfaction.
• Maryland SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Maryland's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, run by the Maryland Department of Aging, gives free, unbiased, one-to-one Medicare help through trained, certified counselors at 19 SHIP offices around the state. SHIP does not sell insurance and it is not long-term care coverage. What it is good for is the ground around a long-term care decision: neutral side-by-side comparisons of Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans in your own Maryland zip code, screening for the Medicare Savings Program, Extra Help and the state's Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program, and help appealing a denied claim.
• Maryland Access Point (MAP). Maryland Access Point is the state's No Wrong Door Aging and Disability Resource Center — the single entry point for older adults and people with disabilities who need help with long-term care planning. The Maryland Department of Aging provides training and oversight; Area Agencies on Aging, working with Centers for Independent Living, run the 20 local MAP sites. Four services matter if you are weighing a policy: information and referral, application assistance, a Level One Screen that gauges your risk of institutionalization and connects you to waiver programs, and options counseling, in which certified staff build you a personal plan for aging.
• Community First Choice. Community First Choice is Maryland Medicaid's state plan benefit for receiving long-term care at home and in the community instead of in an institution, run by the Maryland Department of Health's Medicaid Administration. There is no age limit, but two conditions do the real work: you must need an institutional level of care, and you must already have full Medicaid — the red-and-white card. Covered services include personal assistance, nurse monitoring, home-delivered meals, accessibility adaptations, assistive technology, personal emergency response systems, supports planning and transition services. COMAR chapter 10.09.84 governs it, and the program's own line is 410-767-1739.

How to compare quotes in Maryland

• Confirm any agent or carrier you talk to is currently licensed to sell in Maryland — the Maryland Insurance Administration can confirm licensing status.
• Ask which products a carrier is actively writing in Maryland 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 Maryland — 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 Maryland Insurance Administration or a licensed agent before making any decision. LongTermCareInsurance411 is not a government agency and does not administer Maryland's insurance regulations or Medicaid program.

Last updated: August 22, 2026