Should You Ditch Your Long Term Care Insurance?

Key Takeaways

• Long-term care insurance has elimination periods (30-180 days) before benefits kick in, creating a gap for post-surgery rehabilitation care; continuing care at home covers services from day one with only a 1 ADL requirement versus insurance's typical 2 ADL requirement
• Life care at home programs evaluate activities of daily living holistically (groceries, meal prep, eating) versus insurance's narrow assessment (fork to mouth); this broader perspective creates more comprehensive care plans
• Continuing care at home entry fees (typically $75,000-$80,000 at age 75) are 100% tax-deductible as prepaid medical expenses, with ongoing monthly portions also tax-deductible—a unique benefit versus pay-as-you-go care
• Long-term care insurance premiums are increasing 300-400% in some cases due to industry challenges and class action suits; many policyholders are considering buyouts or switching to continuing care programs with no lifetime benefit caps
• Having a long-standing relationship with a care coordinator (versus one-time insurance assessment) enables early identification of health decline through annual assessments and preventive interventions like physical therapy for fall prevention