This is then making LTCI unaffordable to the middle class?
(1) Are premiums for existing LTCI policies likely to increase at a much higher rate than in the past making LTCI unaffordable to the middle class?
(2) Are premiums for an identical LTCI policy significantly different from one region to another of the country since the costs for LTC are so different from one state to another since the costs for LTC vary so widely from one state to another - almost a threefold difference (e.g. Texas vs New York)?
(3) What information do you have for Continuing Care at Home programs such Longwood at Home and Cadbury (NJ)? Are such CCAH programs a better choice than LTCI policies?
2. The companies are smart enough to pool their risk across several markets. Unlike car insurance, they simply won't sell to you if you are over 80
3. This site does not provide ratings, but your state health department does.
4. The comparison is not logical, because LTCI is insurance and CCAH is a service.
CCRC-- Collects both the insurance premiums and the payout from insurance. They also require a large lump sum buy in and rents start out at $6K per month at the Independent Living level.
It seems to me that Long Term Care Insurance and CCAH have a similarity in that you buy in while you are healthy and young. The younger you are, the cheaper the premiums, but the longer you pay those premiums - so it may be a wash. There seem to be two levels to CCAH, the full service where you pay only the same premium each month, and a half level, where you pay your lower premium and then 1/2 of the actual cost as a co-payment.
With LTCI, you do the work of finding what you need and paying for it (is the argument against it on the CCAH websites) and with CCAH you get a liaison who does the work for you on your behalf. Sounds like a good idea to me.
All of the costs of everything medical related are only going to go up as the population ages. The questions you have asked are really unanswerable as no one can predict the future. And there is not usually a reason for anyone on this forum to investigate the costs from one coast to the other.
I'm not sure if you are asking for personal knowledge or if you are conducting a survey, but I don't think there is a one size fits all answer.
We are a forum of caregivers who are doing the best that we can given what we have to work with. Care at home is ideal for some, and not for others. My crystal ball is a little cloudy, so I can't predict how it will play out for myself personally. I have purchased LTCI, hopefully it will take care of what I need.