The aging of the population will increase the demand for long-term care. Family Responsibility Social Security and Medicare have partly shifted responsibility for the medical and economic needs of older adults from the family to society. People who qualify for Medicaid receive help with nursing home costs. To qualify for Medicaid people must spend down their assets and become impoverished. Under Medicaid law all family members, except spouses, lose their share of the accumulated life savings.
Premiums depend on the age of the applicant when the policy is purchased.
The higher the initial age, the higher the premiums. The majority of policyholders is 55 or older. At an advanced age, people may not be able to afford the policies. Many policies have exclusions and limitations that make comparison shopping difficult.