There are various methods individuals could turn to for trying to address the possibility of having high long-term care expenses in the future. For some, setting up certain kinds of trusts could be of help when it comes to their goals on this front. Another planning strategy some use is getting long-term care insurance.
For those who do opt to get such insurance, some have an individual plan, while others have a group plan. Recently, here in Massachusetts, there have been many hikes and planned hikes on the insurance premiums of certain group plans. So, the cost of maintaining their insurance is something that many individuals who have long-term-care insurance through a group plan may be seeing go up quite a bit.
There was a law passed in the state in 2012 directed towards providing protections against big rate increases on long-term care plans generally. Among the things the law did was open up group plan rates for state regulation. However, no such group-plan-related regulatory scheme has yet been finalized.
If such a scheme is ultimately reached, one wonders if it will put a halt to big group plan hikes in the state and what overall effects such a scheme will have on long-term insurance as a whole in the state.
What effects do you think the big hikes in premiums that are happening with some group plans will have on how common having a group plan long-term care insurance policy is among individuals here in Massachusetts?
How good of a fit a given long-term care strategy is for a person can not only be impacted by changes that happen in their life, but also by changes in the costs or the rules regarding that strategy. If a major change of any type happens that leaves a person worried about whether the long-term care planning approach they have taken is still right for them, they may want to discuss their current planning approach and the change that has occurred with an elder law attorney.
Source: The Boston Globe, “Long-term care insurance rates soaring,” Deirdre Fernandes, Aug. 8, 2016