Medicaid long-term care services expenditures in the U.S. 1990-2021

Medicaid spent approximately 138.9 billion U.S. dollars on long-term care services in 2021, which was a slight increase on the previous year. California, New York, and Pennsylvania were the states with the highest long-term care expenditures.

States support home- and community-based care

Combined spending on nursing care facilities, home health care, and other health care made up roughly one-third of Medicaid’s total costs in 2019. Other health care costs include home- and community-based waiver programs that allow people to receive long-term care at home or in their community. Nearly all states offer the waivers, which can substantially reduce expenditures for Medicaid enrollees who would otherwise have to enter a long-term institutional service, such as a nursing home. In recent decades, the distribution of Medicaid’s long-term care services expenditures has shifted toward home- and community-based care.

The costs of in-home care are rising

Long-term care expenditures vary depending on the setting, location, and level of care required. In 2020, the annual median cost of long-term care in the United States ranged from 19,240 U.S. dollars for adult day health care services to 105,850 U.S. dollars for a private room in a nursing home. In general, the costs of nursing home facilities were considerably higher than those for home care and community living options. However, in-home care reported the highest year-on-year cost increases, and growing demand for the services has led to a rise in spending on home health care over recent years.