Skyrocketing cost of long-term-care insurance leaves a couple in a bind
The entire long-term care insurance industry has suffered gigantic losses due to pricing decisions made decades ago that have proven a long way off: insurers underestimated how long policyholders would live and need nursing home care, while overestimating how many of those plans would sink before collecting of achievements (few have). Insurers are now increasing rates to accommodate their previous miscalculations. And in recent years, some of the biggest names in the industry have gone out of business and stopped writing individual long-term care guidelines. About half of Americans age 65 will need long-term care services. Most will need help for less than two years, but about one in seven will need it for more than five years. The average cost of care in a nursing home for a year in Massachusetts exceeds $ 125,000. The average assisted living cost in Massachusetts is more than $ 65,000 per year. The Flannerys are retired with a steady income and say they cannot afford the higher p...