The private insurance market has proved increasingly inadequate in providing financial security for most of the millions of older Americans who might need home health aides, assisted living or other types of assistance with daily living, the New York Times reported. For decades, the industry severely underestimated how many policyholders would use their coverage, how long they would live and how much their care would cost. Only 3 to 4 percent of Americans 50 and older pay for a long-term care policy, according to LIMRA, an insurance marketing and research association. That stands in stark contrast to federal estimates that 70 percent of people 65 and older will need critical services before they die. Repeated government efforts to create a functioning market for long-term care insurance — or to provide public alternatives — have never taken hold. Today, most insurers have stopped selling stand-alone long-term care policies: The ones that still exist are too expensive for most people. And they have become less affordable each year, with insurers raising premiums higher and higher. Many policyholders face painful choices to pay more, pare benefits or drop coverage altogether.
