Long-Term Care Plans Difficult To Understand
The high cost and complexity of long-term care insurance policies is making it more difficult for U.S. residents to obtain coverage, according to a study commissioned by AARP, the Oakland Tribune reports (Brevetti [1], Oakland Tribune, 8/8).
However, people might be buying long-term care insurance at younger ages, and more businesses are offering long-term care coverage as group plans to workers, according to Lennis Lyon, program manager for the Contra Costa County Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program. HICAP is a not-for-profit organization that provides information about Medicare, health care coverage and long-term care (Brevetti [2], Oakland Tribune, 8/8).
Study author Bonnie Burns, a training and policy specialist with California Health Advocates, said policy features and provisions of long-term care plans should be standardized because policies are not comparable to each other and are difficult to understand (Brevetti [1], Oakland Tribune, 8/8).