Comparing long-term care insurance policies: bewildering choices for consumers
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- Burns, Bonnie. AARP (Organization) Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization))
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : AARP Public Policy Institute, c2006
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Choice Behavior Insurance, Long-Term Care -- standards Community Participation Decision Making Insurance Coverage Insurance, Long-Term Care -- economics Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The cost of long-term care is an important factor in retirement planning. It also affects state and federal governments, given the major role of Medicaid in paying for care. Yet, as Medicaid eligibility rules are tightened, the implication for consumers is that long-term care insurance (LTCI) may be their best option for financing care. LTCI will allow them to maintain their independence and have a choice of high-quality providers, it is said; at the same time LTCI will enable consumers to avoid dependence on scarce public resources. Whether LTCI can accomplish these goals for most Americans, and whether the purchase of this product will substantially relieve the pressure of future demands on public benefits, remains to be seen. Comparing one long-term care policy with another is a challenge, even for professionals. Consumers will find very little independent and objective help or guidance to assist them during the decision-making process, and nothing that will help them easily compare one policy with another. The purpose of this report is to: (1) identify the critical issues that make the comparison of LTCI policies difficult for consumers; and (2) Offer public policy recommendations that would improve the ability of consumers to make educated decisions about the purchase of LTCI. The author identified critical issues that consumers face when they consider purchasing LTCI. Such issues include types of policies, benefit amounts and duration of coverage, location and license status of providers, inflation protection, length of waiting period before benefits begin, and premium costs. Yet, simply understanding these issues will not resolve the difficulties that consumers face. The intent of this report is to offer recommendations to policymakers that would make the system more comprehensible.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- iv, 29 p.
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101473791 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101473791