Skip to content
Independent money guidance
Clear Money Guide
Start here
Menu

Long-Term Care Partnership Program in West Virginia (2026)

Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: Yes. West Virginia participates in the federal Long-Term Care Partnership Program, using a dollar-for-dollar asset-protection model, under W. Va. Code Section 9-4E-3, Long-term care partnership program.

How the asset protection works

West Virginia uses a dollar-for-dollar asset-protection model: an amount of Medicaid-countable assets equal to what a qualified Partnership policy actually paid out is protected (disregarded) both when applying for Medicaid and later in Medicaid estate recovery. W. Va. Code Section 9-4E-3, Long-term care partnership program is the governing citation. In the state’s own words: “the assets an individual owns and may retain under Medicaid and still qualify for benefits under Medicaid”

What the state itself says about moving

West Virginia’s own program materials address this directly, describing it this way: The Bureau of Medical Services shall pursue reciprocal agreements with other states to extend the asset disregard to West Virginia residents who purchased long-term care partnership policies in other states that are compliant with Title VI, Section 6021 of the Federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

Which policies qualify

West Virginia’s own materials, as read this session, did not state a specific policy-issue-date cutoff in so many words. The federal baseline (Deficit Reduction Act of 2005) only covers policies issued after February 8, 2006 in any Partnership state; ask the insurer directly whether a specific policy carries the Partnership designation rather than assuming from its purchase date alone.

Estate recovery, not just eligibility

The federal rule requires the same protected amount to be disregarded twice: once when West Virginia decides Medicaid eligibility, and again later if West Virginia pursues Medicaid estate recovery against the person’s estate. A Partnership-qualified policy is doing two jobs, not one; see how estate recovery itself works in West Virginia.

The federal Partnership framework, in numbers
Federal Partnership framework itself20 years old (in place since February 8, 2006)
Federal inflation-protection buyer-age bracketscompound protection required under age 61; some protection required age 61 to age 76
This state’s core mechanismprotects $1 of assets for every $1 the policy pays out
Source read this session
State citationW. Va. Code Section 9-4E-3, Long-term care partnership program
Federal authority42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b), Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
ParticipatesYes
ConfidenceHigh

For the federal rules behind this state page, see how Partnership reciprocity works when you move states and why inflation protection is a condition of staying Partnership-qualified.

Every citation on this page was read directly from the state’s own Insurance Department, Medicaid agency, statute, or administrative code this session (or, where that site could not be reached, from an independently cross-checked legal-database mirror of the same codified text, disclosed below). General information, not insurance, legal, or tax advice on any specific policy or application; program rules and reciprocity agreements can change, and your state’s Insurance Department or Medicaid agency has the final say.

Next step