Long-Term Care: Ignore Planning at Your Peril

Tags: Long-Term Care Premiums Expected to Mushroom Soon, Costs Too High for Most Families, Options

Long-Term Care: Ignore Planning at Your Peril, Ron Lieber, NY Times, Nov 4, 2010,

… This year, big players in the industry like John Hancock and MetLife have announced their intent to raise annual premiums by up to a jaw-dropping 40 percent if state regulators let them. …

For people age 65 and older who have long-term care insurance, there is a 45 percent chance of making a claim, though it ranges from 30 to 56 percent depending on gender and marital status. …

the average rate for a private room in a nursing home was now $229 a night, or $83,585 a year, on average, though it can range widely by geography. Average costs for home health aides are $21 an hour. …

THE GOVERNMENT’S PLAN One part of the landmark health care bill earlier this year is something called the Class Act. In effect, it sets the government up in the long-term care insurance business.

No one will be able to enroll until 2012 at the earliest, and the plan may not pay much more than $75 or $100 a day for claims (and only after a five-year period of paying premiums first), though that will be indexed for inflation. Still, since it will be easier to qualify for this coverage than for private insurance, where a medical exam is often necessary, it may be tempting for people to wait and enroll in a couple of years. (Which may turn out fine as long as the program doesn’t get delayed until 2016 and you don’t need care before then.) … http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/businessspecial5/05CARE.html?ref=business&src=me&pagewanted=all