Most Minnesotans hope to remain at home if they eventually need help. They want to maintain their independence, stay close to their families, and receive care from people they know and trust.
But how much would that care actually cost?
The latest statewide figures available in 2026 show that long-term care can cost anywhere from approximately $31,000 to more than $166,000 per year in Minnesota, depending on the kind of assistance you need and where you receive it.
These costs raise an equally important question: If someone in your family were willing to step away from work or reduce their hours to care for you, would you want your long-term care plan to compensate them?
The Cost of Long-Term Care in Minnesota
The following are the latest median Minnesota costs reported in CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care
Survey, which was released in March 2026:
- In-home nonmedical caregiver: approximately $100,672 per year, based on 44 hours of care per week
- Adult day health care: approximately $31,200 per year
- Assisted living community: approximately $78,870 per year for a private one-bedroom residence
- Nursing home with a semiprivate room: approximately $127,750 per year
- Nursing home with a private room: approximately $166,440 per year
That means a private nursing-home room in Minnesota now has a median cost of approximately
$13,870 per month.
Even receiving nonmedical assistance at home can cost approximately $8,389 per month when 44 hours of weekly care is needed.
These are statewide median figures. Actual expenses can vary depending on where you live, how many hours of care you require, and the level of assistance you need.
What Does In-Home Care Include?
Long-term care does not necessarily mean moving into a nursing home. In fact, many people receive care in their own homes.
An in-home caregiver may help with:
- Bathing and personal hygiene
- Dressing
- Using the bathroom
- Moving safely around the home
- Preparing meals
- Taking medications as directed
- Transportation and errands
- Housekeeping and laundry
- Supervision for someone with cognitive impairment
- Providing companionship and helping someone remain safely at home
As care needs increase, the number of hours required can rise considerably. Someone may begin with a caregiver visiting a few mornings each week but eventually need help every day—or even around-the-clock supervision.
How Much Could Several Years of Care Cost?
Long-term care expenses become especially significant when care continues for several years.
At today’s Minnesota median costs:
- Three years of assisted living could cost approximately $236,000.
- Three years in a semiprivate nursing-home room could cost approximately $383,000.
- Three years in a private nursing-home room could cost nearly $500,000.
- Three years of in-home care at 44 hours per week could cost more than $300,000.
These figures do not account for future inflation. Someone who is currently 55 or 60 may not need care for another 20 or 30 years, by which time the cost could be substantially higher.
Could a Family Member Provide Your Care?
Many families assume a spouse, adult child, sibling, or other relative will step in when care is needed. Family members often want to help, but providing care can create a major financial and emotional burden.
A family caregiver may need to:
- Reduce their working hours
- Take an unpaid leave of absence
- Turn down a promotion
- Leave their career early
- Pay for transportation or childcare
- Use personal savings
- Sacrifice retirement contributions
- Provide care during evenings and weekends
That brings up a question every family should consider:
If your daughter, son, spouse, or another family member reduced their income to care for you, would you want to be able to pay them?
For many people, the answer is yes. They do not want someone they love to suffer financially because that person agreed to provide their care.
Can Long-Term Care Insurance Pay a Family Member?
The answer depends on the policy.
Some long-term care insurance policies reimburse expenses only when care is provided by a licensed professional or approved agency. These reimbursement policies generally require bills,
receipts, or proof of covered services before benefits are paid.
Other policies provide cash-indemnity benefits. Once the insured person qualifies for benefits, a cash-indemnity policy can pay the policy’s monthly benefit directly to the policyholder without
requiring the same monthly receipts for each dollar spent.
Depending on the policy’s specific provisions, that money could potentially be used to:
• Pay a family member who provides care
• Hire a professional caregiver
• Cover expenses that allow someone to remain at home
• Pay for transportation or meal preparation
• Make safety modifications to the home
• Replace some of the income lost by a family caregiver
Not every policy allows unrestricted payments to family members. Definitions, exclusions, licensing requirements, and benefit provisions vary among insurance companies. That is why understanding how a policy pays benefits can be just as important as knowing the dollar amount
of coverage.
Reimbursement Versus Cash-Indemnity Benefits
Consider two policies that each advertise a $7,500 monthly long-term care benefit.
Under a reimbursement policy, the insurance company generally reimburses covered expenses up to $7,500. If only $5,000 of qualifying expenses were incurred, the policy might pay only $5,000.
Under a cash-indemnity policy, the full monthly benefit may be paid once the insured person satisfies the policy’s benefit eligibility requirements. The policyholder and family can then have considerably more flexibility in deciding how that money is used.
That flexibility can be especially valuable when the goal is to remain at home or receive help from someone you already know and trust.
Does Medicare Pay for Long-Term Care?
Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial long-term care.
It may cover limited skilled nursing, rehabilitation, or home health services when specific medical requirements are met. However, it is not designed to pay indefinitely for help with everyday activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, supervision, or remaining safely at home.
Medicaid—called Medical Assistance in Minnesota—can help eligible individuals pay for certain long-term care services. However, it has financial eligibility requirements and rules regarding income and assets.
This leaves many Minnesota families paying for care from:
• Retirement savings
• Investment accounts
• Home equity
• Income
• Family assistance
• Traditional long-term care insurance
• Hybrid life insurance with long-term care benefits
• Annuity-based long-term care plans
Planning Is About More Than Paying for a Facility
Long-term care planning should not begin with the question, “Which nursing home would I choose?”
A better place to begin is:
• Where would I prefer to receive care?
• Who would I want helping me?
• Would I want to compensate a family caregiver?
• How would caregiving affect my spouse or children?
• Which assets would I want to protect?
• How much flexibility would I want when benefits are paid?
The right plan should do more than pay bills. It should give you and your family choices.
Understanding Your Long-Term Care Options
Long-term care insurance has changed considerably. Minnesota residents may have several options, including:
• Traditional long-term care insurance
• Hybrid life insurance with long-term care benefits
• Cash-indemnity long-term care policies
• Joint or shared-benefit coverage for couples
• Annuity-based long-term care plans
• Single-pay, five-pay, or ten-pay funding arrangements
• Minnesota Long-Term Care Partnership policies
The appropriate approach depends on your health, age, available assets, family situation, and the
kind of care you would want.
At Long Term Care Insurance Advisors, we compare traditional, hybrid life and long-term care, and annuity-based options from multiple insurance companies. We can help you understand not
only how much coverage a policy provides, but also how and when those benefits can be used.
To discuss your options, schedule a complimentary consultation with Brian Emswiler of Long Term Care Insurance Advisors, Inc., in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Cost information is based on CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey, released in March 2026.
Costs shown are statewide medians, and actual costs will vary by provider, location, accommodations, and level of care. Policy benefits, exclusions, limitations, and eligibility requirements vary by insurance company and contract.