Delaware Partnership plans are not merely legacy policies
Delaware’s Department of Insurance published a carrier list updated July 1, 2024 stating that listed companies offer long-term-care insurance policies for sale in Delaware. The same official list has a separate heading for “LTC Partnerships Plans” and names Genworth Life Insurance Company, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, New York Life Insurance Company, and Transamerica Life Insurance Company (Delaware DOI LTC insurance company list).
That published sales list supports treating Delaware’s Partnership framework as available rather than closed or legacy-only as of the document’s July 2024 update. Carrier offerings can change, however, so a shopper should obtain current written confirmation from the insurer or producer that a proposed policy is Partnership-qualified in Delaware before relying on its Medicaid asset-protection features (Delaware DOI Partnership carrier list).
Ask the right purchase questions
The Department of Insurance encourages consumers to obtain quotes from several companies because premium rates may vary and notes that a local producer or agency may help locate coverage. A comparison should also establish whether the product is individual, group, federally qualified, or a Delaware Partnership plan; those labels are separately organized on the Department’s official list (Delaware DOI LTC market list).
Partnership insurance should be coordinated with, not substituted for, Medicaid planning. Delaware’s long-term-care system still has its own income standard, resource limits, spouse rules, level-of-care process, transfer review, and estate-recovery policy, all of which can matter even if a person owns an LTC policy (DMMA 2026 eligibility standards; Delaware transfer and recovery policy).
Delaware Partnership status: the Department of Insurance’s July 2024 sales list includes four Partnership-plan carriers. Verify that a policy offered today remains Delaware Partnership-qualified before purchase (
Delaware DOI LTC insurance list).
For insurance fundamentals, see Traditional LTC Insurance. A licensed Delaware producer, financial professional, and where appropriate elder-law attorney can help test whether the premium and benefit design fit the larger care plan.
Federal Tax Incentives for LTC Insurance Premiums (2026)
Beyond any state-level benefit, a tax-qualified LTC insurance contract (one meeting IRC § 7702B)
carries several federal tax benefits, and a number of the relevant limits increased for 2026:
- Age-based premium deduction: eligible premiums count as a medical expense on
Schedule A (to the extent total unreimbursed medical expenses exceed 7.5% of AGI), up to 2026 limits
of $500 (age 40 or younger), $930 (41–50), $1,860 (51–60), $4,960 (61–70), and $6,200
(over 70) — all increased from 2025 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, § 4.27).
- Self-employed and business deductions: self-employed individuals can deduct 100%
of eligible premiums up to the same age-based limits without itemizing, and C-corporations can generally
deduct LTC premiums paid for employees as an ordinary business expense under IRC § 162, uncapped by
the individual age-based limits.
- Tax-free benefits: benefits from a tax-qualified contract are generally excluded
from income under IRC § 7702B(d); per-diem/indemnity contracts are tax-free up to $430/day (about
$13,079/month) for 2026 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, § 4.62).
- HSA-funded premiums: HSA funds can be withdrawn tax-free to pay eligible LTC
premiums, up to the same age-based limits above.
- New for 2026 — penalty-free retirement withdrawals: SECURE 2.0 Act § 334
lets eligible 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) participants under 59½ withdraw funds to pay
premiums on a certified LTC contract without the usual 10% early-withdrawal penalty, up to the least of
the actual premium paid, 10% of the vested account balance, or a statutory cap of $2,600 for 2026. The
distribution itself is still fully taxable as ordinary income and is not available from IRAs
(IRS Notice 2026-33).
Delaware state incentive: Delaware offers no separate state credit or deduction for LTC insurance premiums beyond the federal incentives above (
Got LTCi, State Tax Incentives).
State tax rules change frequently and the credit/deduction summary above is not exhaustive —
confirm current eligibility, forms, and amounts with your state department of revenue or a tax
professional before relying on any figure here.
Not mutually exclusive. Most families combine two or three funding pillars — this one rarely stands alone.
The
Journey Assessment ranks all ten pillars against your specific situation and
recommends the top three.
