California Partnership for Long-Term Care Policies: What They Are and How They Work

The California Department of Insurance describes the California Partnership for Long-Term Care as a program of the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS): a partnership among consumers, the State of California, a select number of insurance companies and the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The participating insurers offered a special type of long-term care policy that had to meet requirements set by DHCS and be approved by both departments.

DHCS says these policies pay for care in the same way other long-term care policies do. What sets them apart is what happens after the benefits are used. If you want the basics of how any long-term care policy pays in a care home, start with long-term care insurance in assisted living.

Not at present. Read in October 2026, the DHCS Partnership page says: "Currently, no Partnership-approved insurance companies are selling policies." It adds that non-Partnership long-term care policies are available.

The department's list of participating companies says the same thing in other words: none of the listed companies are presently selling or offering Partnership long-term care coverage. The list names Bankers Life and Casualty, CNA, Genworth, John Hancock, MetLife, New York Life, Transamerica and the CalPERS Long-Term Care Program. For CalPERS, the page says California public employees, retirees and certain family members are eligible to apply and should call CalPERS for application period dates.

So for most families the question today is about a policy a parent already owns, bought years ago. DHCS tells existing policyholders to contact their company's customer service with questions about the policy.

DHCS explains the feature this way. Each dollar a Partnership policy pays out in benefits entitles the policyholder to keep a dollar of assets if they ever need to apply for Medi-Cal. Those dollars are protected against Medi-Cal's spend-down rules. If the insurance runs out and care is still needed, the person can apply to Medi-Cal without first spending the protected amount.

The department adds a limit that is easy to miss: the person may still have to apply a portion of their income toward the cost of care. The protection is for assets, not income.

The feature matters more now that Medi-Cal counts assets again. DHCS says that as of January 1, 2026, Medi-Cal counts assets for people who are 65 or older, have a disability or live in a nursing home. The limit is $130,000 for one person through June 30, 2027, and $21,000 for one person starting July 1, 2027. Our guide to Medi-Cal asset and income rules covers those limits.

How much a particular policy has protected, and how the county applies it, are questions for the insurer and the county Medi-Cal office. Whether protected assets are also treated differently after death is a separate question. See Medi-Cal estate recovery and ask an elder law attorney.

DHCS describes two types of Partnership policy. A facility-only policy covers care in a nursing home or a residential care facility. A comprehensive policy covers care at home and in the community as well as in a nursing home or residential care facility. Coverage was sold in amounts from one to five years, or lifetime. The department says all Partnership policies include:

• Automatic inflation protection, so the benefit grows as the cost of care rises.
• A deductible that has to be met only once in a lifetime.
• Care coordination to help plan and arrange services.
• Waiver of premiums while the person receives care in a nursing home or residential care facility.
• Interchangeable policy benefits, so care can be arranged to fit the person's needs.

Assisted living communities and board and care homes are licensed in California as residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). Both types of Partnership policy cover care in a residential care facility, according to DHCS. Ask the insurer to confirm in writing that the home you are considering meets the policy's definition.

Partnership policies come with care management. DHCS says the Partnership requires a Care Management Provider Agency, approved by the department and independent from the insurer, to provide care coordination. The care manager works with the policyholder, the family and the physician on an assessment and a Plan of Care, and must look at how needs might also be met through other sources. These are the usual first steps for a family:

1. 1

   Find the policy and call the insurer

   Confirm it is a Partnership policy, whether it is facility-only or comprehensive, the current daily benefit after inflation increases, and what is left of the total benefit.

2. 2

   Ask how to open a claim

   Ask about the deductible period, the assessment, and how to reach the care management agency.

3. 3

   Ask for a record of benefits paid

   The asset protection is tied to the dollars the policy pays out, so keep the insurer's statements.

4. 4

   Keep paying the home as the admission agreement requires

   Ask the insurer who receives payment and how often, and ask the home who handles insurance forms.

DHCS says the Department of Insurance approves all premium increases for long-term care policies sold in California. For Partnership policies, it says state regulations do not allow the department to approve an increase of more than forty percent, and an approved increase must be spread equally over three years. The page says a policyholder on waiver of premium, or currently using benefits in a nursing facility or residential care facility, is not subject to the increase. It also lists ways some policyholders can reduce benefits to lower a premium, which is a decision to talk through with independent help.

DHCS lists two places for that help. The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) gives health insurance counseling to older California residents at no charge, at (800) 434-0222. The Department of Insurance consumer hotline is (800) 927-4357. Other sources of unbiased help are in our guide to where to get help with senior care costs.

Hamssa Benrekia is a senior living placement specialist in Torrance who works with families in the South Bay and Harbor area of Los Angeles County. She does not sell insurance, file claims or decide what a policy covers. Once you know what the policy will pay each day, she can shortlist licensed assisted living communities and board and care homes that may fit the budget. More money topics are in the California Assisted Living Placement Guide. To talk about homes, contact Hamssa.