“Most long-term care doesn’t qualify for insurance benefit,” by Robert Pokorski, InsuranceNewsNet 

“How common is pre-HIPAA-level LTC? An earlier study by the Urban Institute suggested that the majority of LTC may be provided for people with lower levels of disability who do not meet the threshold for an LTC insurance benefit. Estimates are that one in four people (26%) who pay for LTCi and almost three in four (71%) who receive only unpaid LTC would not meet the threshold for benefits under a tax-qualified LTC insurance policy.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

Statements and research like that reflect ignorance of what insurance is. It is not paying for stuff you need. The purpose of insurance is to replace the small risk of a catastrophic loss with the certainty of an affordable premium. If it is not a potentially catastrophic loss, then insurance is not the right way to plan for it. You don’t buy insurance for oil changes and you shouldn’t buy long-term care insurance for minimal LTC needs you can and should anticipate. For those, save and invest. That’s what your rainy day fund should handle.