Virginia Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs, Cardinal Care, and Partnership Policies

What care costs in Virginia

Source: CareScout Cost of Care Survey, July–November 2025. The national median for assisted living was $76,200. Costs vary within the state, often running higher in metro areas.

Cardinal Care: Virginia Medicaid long-term care

• Program: Virginia Medicaid is called Cardinal Care; home and community-based services come through the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (CCC+) waiver, which has limited enrollment and may have waiting lists.
• 2026 limits for a single applicant: income up to $2,982 a month and assets under $2,000, plus a nursing home level of care.
• Look-back: five years for nursing home and waiver applications.
• Gifting exception: up to $4,000 a year in gifts may be allowed without penalty if there’s a documented pattern of gifting for at least three years.

Source: Medicaid Planning Assistance, June 2026.

Northern Virginia costs

Care costs in Northern Virginia often run higher than the state median, closer to those of the Washington, D.C., metro area. If you live there, or might move there to be near family, size your coverage to local prices rather than the statewide figure.

Partnership policies in Virginia

Virginia participates in the long-term care partnership program; nationally, only a handful of states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Utah, and Vermont, don’t (Partnership for Long-Term Care). A partnership-qualified policy lets you keep assets equal to the benefits it paid if you later need Medicaid. Policies must include inflation protection based on your age at purchase. See how partnership programs work.

What Medicare won’t pay

Medicare doesn’t cover long-term custodial care, the everyday help with bathing, dressing, and eating that most people need (Medicare.gov). It can cover a skilled nursing facility stay of up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay, but in 2026 you pay $217 a day for days 21 through 100 (CMS). For longer care, Virginia residents rely on savings, insurance, or Medicaid.

Protections for a spouse at home

Federal rules protect part of a married couple’s assets and income when one spouse needs Medicaid long-term care. For 2026, states protect between $32,532 and $162,660 in assets for the spouse at home, with a monthly income allowance of at least $2,643.75 and up to $4,066.50 (CMS). Each state chooses where within those ranges to set its limits.

Coverage options for Virginia residents

• Traditional long-term care insurance: the most care benefit per premium dollar, though premiums can rise.
• Hybrid life and LTC policies: care benefits plus a death benefit if you don’t need care.
• Life insurance riders: use part of a death benefit for care.
• Short-term care insurance: covers a year or less of care, with simpler underwriting.

Premiums for tax-qualified policies can be deductible as medical expenses, up to $4,960 for ages 61 to 70 and $6,200 for 71 and older in 2026 (ElderLawAnswers).

Example: three years of assisted living

Illustrative only: three years in a Virginia assisted living community at the 2025 median would cost about $250,020. A policy paying $6,000 a month for three years would cover about $216,000, leaving about $34,020 from savings.

Checklist for Virginia residents

1. Estimate care costs in your region; Northern Virginia usually costs more.
2. Compare your assets with Cardinal Care’s $2,000 limit.
3. Ask whether a policy is partnership-qualified.
4. Talk with an elder law attorney before gifting, given the five-year look-back.
5. Compare options while you’re healthy.

Virginia long-term care FAQs

Related guides

• Long-term care insurance
• Long-term care costs
• How to pay for long-term care
• Partnership programs
• Hybrid life and LTC insurance
• Life insurance riders

Your next step

Tell us about your plans, and a licensed agent will compare Virginia long-term care options.