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Long-Term Care Partnership Program in Ohio (2026)

Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: Yes. Ohio participates in the federal Long-Term Care Partnership Program, using a dollar-for-dollar asset-protection model, under Ohio Admin. Code 3901-4-02, Long-term care partnership program.

How the asset protection works

Ohio 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. Ohio Admin. Code 3901-4-02, Long-term care partnership program is the governing citation. In the state’s own words: “The purpose of this rule is to implement a state long-term care partnership program in Ohio in accordance with sections 3923.41 to 3923.49”

What the state itself says about moving

Ohio’s own program materials, as read this session, do not spell out a reciprocity policy in so many words. The federal default (Deficit Reduction Act of 2005) is opt-out, not opt-in: most Partnership states honor each other’s policies unless a state has formally withdrawn. Confirm the current position directly with the Medicaid agency in the state you are moving to or from, in writing, before counting on it.

Which policies qualify

Ohio’s own materials tie the program to policies issued on or after 2007 (or the date its state plan amendment took effect that year). A long-term care policy bought before that cutoff is not automatically Partnership-qualified in Ohio even if it otherwise looks similar; the policy’s own rider or outline of coverage should say “Partnership” or “Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership” explicitly.

Estate recovery, not just eligibility

The federal rule requires the same protected amount to be disregarded twice: once when Ohio decides Medicaid eligibility, and again later if Ohio 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 Ohio.

A note on sourcing: Fetched directly from codes.ohio.gov; the dollar-for-dollar description and any reciprocity language were not found in the retrieved portion of the rule.

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
Ohio’s own cutoff (since 2007)19 years old
This state’s core mechanismprotects $1 of assets for every $1 the policy pays out
Source read this session
State citationOhio Admin. Code 3901-4-02, Long-term care partnership program
Federal authority42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b), Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
ParticipatesYes
ConfidenceMedium

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.

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