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Paying for long-term care

 It’s estimated that 50% to 60% of 65-year-olds will require some form of long-term care at some point in their lives, often in 80s or later. Physician  John Lim recommends considering an alternative to self-funding (often followed by Medicaid), traditional long term care insurance (LTCI), or hybrid policies (afford payouts even if you don’t need…

Hybrid long term care policies

Due to the high cost of traditional long term care insurance (LTCI) and the likelihood of substantial premium increases in the future, insurance companies are offering hybrid policies that combine LTC protection with whole life insurance or with an annuity. With these policies the insured can be assured that their beneficiaries will receive a payout…

Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance

Actuaries miscalculated when insurance companies first started selling Long term care insurance (LTCI). As insurance company losses mounted many purchasers faced unaffordable increases in their annual premiums. Rather quickly the number of companies offering LTCI shrunk from about 100 to a dozen as it became clear that the product was not properly priced.Now a variation…

Asset Based Long Term Care Insurance

A new development in the long term care insurance (LTCI) industry is “asset-based” policies  that link long term care (LTC) coverage with a whole life insurance policy or a deferred annuity. Huge premium increases in the early years of LTCI often caused insured to drop their policies because they simply could not afford the much…

Who will care for aging Americans if the flow of immigrants is curtailed?

Immigrants play a big and growing part of providing care for America’s elderly parents and grandparents   Gerald F. Seib explains the critical role of immigrants in caring for America’s elderly in The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 28, 2018): How a Heated Immigration Debate Might Affect Grandma’s Care  “America is getting older. Some 10,000 baby…

Long Term Care Insurance: Pros and Cons

“Stiff annual premium increases are making long-term-care insurance unaffordable for some retirees, and the high cost can be traced to few insurers remaining in the market, writes Darla Mercado. Yet, with annual nursing home costs approaching $100,000, such policies may be worth holding on to if possible, she writes.” “Near-retirees wanting to shield themselves from…

Long Term Care Insurance Industry Problems

 I’ve advocated that most people would be better off saving the amount of the premium and investing it for retirement expenses rather than buy LTC insurance. The Wall Street Journal reports (12/4/2016) widespread problems in the industry. “Collapse of Long-Term Care Insurer Reflects Deep Industry Woes: Actuarial miscalculations on long-term-care policies by two units of…