Long-term care is the houseguest nobody invited, nobody planned for, and who somehow ends up with the biggest bill at the end of dinner.
It is the largest retirement expense most Americans never write down. Not because it is small. Because it is awkward.
Here is the headline number everybody quotes: a private nursing home room now runs a national median of $129,575 a year, per CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey.
And here is the thing about that number.
It is basically useless.
Most people who need long-term care never see the inside of a nursing home. The question is not "can I afford $129,575 a year." The question is "how long does the meter run, and how much of it is actually mine to pay."
That is a completely different problem, with a completely different answer. Let us go build it.