The United Seniors Health Cooperative cautions that if paying the premiums is going to cause you financial hardship, you should carefully consider your alternatives. Several major nursing home chains filed bankruptcy in 1999 and 2000, and liability suits against them are driving them out of some states, such as Florida. Only private money will save this system, they say. The real experts disagree. Payment rates are usually much lower than Medicare and the private sector.
Persons receive government help only after depleting most of their assets.
Finally, the institutional bias of the delivery system limits services largely to persons with the most severe disabilities who do not have family supports. Within this system it is difficult to obtain large savings. You should not get the wrong impression from this article. We are not telling you not to buy long-term care insurance. Although the number of long-term care policies being sold is rising, there is a reason that not more policies are sold, particularly to folks who can afford it.