Can Long-Term Care Insurance Be Fixed? 
There is no need to `` fix '' long-term care insurance because it is not broken . However , our current system of how we as a societyassist the growing number of elderly who may have no one to take care of them is in need of serious repair . Right now , if one can not afford the cost of long-term care , they must become `` indigent '' , that is to say , have less that about $ 2,000 in liquid assets and make less than $ 35/mo . -LRB- those numbers are adjusted annually and may not be accurate -RRB- . Assets excluded from the equation are one 's house , one 's car , and approximately $ 91,000 in savings or checking for spousal support . If you have more than that you have to `` spend down '' in order to qualify for government assistance -LRB- Medicaid - in CA , Medical -RRB- . The problem is thatthose programs are not well-funded and may not have sufficient funds when the current baby-boomer demographic hits the age when many will need expensive long-term care . The private sector provides a solution to this problem in selling long-term care insurance to the general public . However , while highly valuable , it is also highly priced . In fact , the middle class , for which it was originally designed to help , have been priced out of the market . Agents are challenged to come up with coverage that middle class folk can afford . The state and federal government 's solution is Medicaid . However , without reform , Medicaid - a partnership between the federal government and the states - will likely run out of money within the next 10-15 years . No one wants that to happen , but no one is doing anything about it right now . A congressional commission has been meeting since the beginning of summer 2013 on the matter of long-term care and should be coming out soon with recommendations for confronting the problem of how we help our elderly die with dignity . 