Search Articles

Find Attorneys

Premiums for New LTCI Policies Decline in Some Cases

long-term care insurance paperwork with a pen.A healthy 55-year-old man can expect to pay $1,015 annually for a new policy offering $164,000 in current long-term care insurance benefits, according to the 2016 Long Term Care Insurance Price Index, an annual report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, an industry group. This amount is 4.2 percent lower than the 2015 figure of $1,060.

The price of similar coverage for a couple also declined.  A married couple both age 60 would pay $2,010 per year combined for a total of $328,000 of long-term care insurance coverage. This represents a 7.5 percent decrease from 2015, when the association reported that a couple could expect to pay $2,170.  Adding an inflation growth option that builds the couple's benefit pool to a combined $730,000 at age 85 would cost an average of $3,560 a year, 9.4 percent lower than last year.

Local Elder Law Attorneys in Your City

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

The association’s executive director, Jesse Slome, attributed the price decline to two main factors.  “First, a couple of insurers that were selling in 2015 are no longer, and they had some high prices,” he said.  “And, some tweaks apparently have reduced costs for the segments we look at. Combined, that brought down the averages.”  But he added that many of the insurers are charging the same in 2016 as they did a year ago 

In fact, prices for some female applicants went up. Leading insurers began charging women higher premiums in 2013 due to their increased likelihood of needing long-term care. Coverage equal to that of the man in the example above would cost a 55-year-old single woman $1,490, 7.2 percent higher than 2015’s figure of $1,390 per year.  

However, rates vary significantly from insurer to insurer for virtually identical policy benefits, pointing to the need to compare prices before purchasing.  For example, the average 55-year-old woman could pay as little as $1,100 a year or as much as $1,880 – a 73 percent difference -- depending on which insurer she buys from.  Similarly, a policy with inflation protection for a married couple both age 60 could be as low as $2,985 or as high as $4,190, a 45 percent spread.

This year’s Index includes rates from all long-term care insurers (fewer than ten companies at this point), using policies sold in Tennessee, which is viewed as a representative state.  The association notes that rates vary by state and are subject to change.

For the association's one-page index showing average prices for common scenarios, including comparisons to 2015 prices, check out this PDF.


Created date: 02/05/2016
Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

READ MORE
Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

READ MORE
Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

READ MORE
Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

READ MORE
Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

READ MORE
Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

READ MORE
ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

READ MORE
Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

READ MORE
Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

READ MORE
Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

READ MORE
Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

READ MORE
Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

READ MORE
Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

READ MORE