1. If I ever need care, the government will take care of me.

FICTION.
Medicare pays for only the first 20 days skilled care and for part of approved expenses during the next 80 days. It pays nothing thereafter. Medicaid pays only after your assets have been depleted.
Source: Healthcare Financing Administration, 2000.

2. The healthier I am today, the less likely I will ever need long-term care.

FICTION.
The healthier you are today the longer you are likely to live. The older you become, the more likely it is that you will need assistance with activities of daily living.
Source: Metlife Mature Market Institute, August, 2003.

3. People who live together are less likely to need nursing home care than people who live alone.

FACT.
That is one of the primary reasons most the insurers offer discounts to partners who live together.
Source: Marilee Driscoll, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Long-Term Care Planning, 2020, p. 33.

4. Everyone should consider owning long-term care insurance, even if the premium expense means cutting back on the grocery budget.

FICTION.
If you must cut back on basics such as food and clothing, long-term care insurance is probably not right for you. If you need long term care, you are likely to deplete your assets and qualify for Medicaid.

5. A good way to save on LTC insurance premiums is to wait until your doctor warns you about an emerging health problem.

FICTION.
First, you have to be in good health in order to qualify to purchase a policy. Second, premiums go up for each birthday that passes before you apply for coverage. Once your policy is in force, premiums are designed (but not guaranteed] to remain level for the rest of your life.

6. The safest way to pick an LTC insurance company is to go with a brand name that you already know.

FICTION.
Many “name brand” insurance companies exited the long term care business or are in the process of transferring ownership to a spin-off subsidiary. It is more important to consider a long term care insurer's claims paying ratings (“A” or better) and to seek a history of consistent long-term care insurance sales and stable rates.

7. Nearly half of the people receiving long-term care are under age 65.

FACT.
Forty percent of the people needing long term care are under age 65.
Source: Tilly, Jane, et al, “Long-Term Care Chart Book: Persons Served, Payers, and Spending,” The Urban Institute in Collaboration with the Congressional Research Service, May, 2000, p.12.

8. It's more likely that women than men will need long-term care.

FACT.
The long-term occupants of the nursing home are primarily women. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that here are about three elderly women for every elderly man.
Source: Marilee Driscoll, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Long-Term Care Planning, 2002, p.33.

9. If I have plenty of money to pay for future long-term care, there's no point in wasting money on long-term care insurance.

FICTION.
Affluent people shift the financial risk of long-term care to insurance companies for one simple reason. They recognize that their legacy assets will be reduced dollar for dollar for all uninsured expenses. Bottom line, they want an insurance company—and not their children—to pay those expenses.

10. Some policies guarantee income tax-free benefits to my beneficiaries, even if I never need long-term care.

FACT.
Linked benefit life insurance policies cover the twin risks of premature death, or requiring long term care. Introduced fifteen years ago, these hybrid policies can offer a lifetime money-back guarantee and lifetime benefit guarantees. They pay benefits even if long-term care is never needed. They are now rapidly gaining in popularity.