Is Denying The Need For Long-Term Care Insurance Reasonable?

Author: Duane Lipham, CLTC

There are several reasons why consumers may choose not to buy long-term care insurance. Some of those reasons can be based on very sound decisions.

For instance, if you have made a thorough investigation into the cost of premiums from several of the financially sound major carriers and have found that the cost is just beyond what you can reasonably bear, this insurance is not for you.

But if you are like most people, the real reason that you may hesitate about preparing for possible future long-term care costs has very little to do with reasonable decisions. It is most likely based on feelings and emotions instead.

Many people live in a state of denial about their possible need for long-term care services in the future. This is often because they have always been relatively healthy in their life and so find it hard to even picture themselves in a state where they may need assistance with activities of daily living.

Or perhaps they remember that their parents just died suddenly or within a short period of time and so they figure that most likely the same will happen to them.

Or perhaps the state of denial is so strong that very little thought has gone into the matter at all. This is because just the thought of this kind of subject seems so depressing that there is a conscious choice to just delay any decision about it to a another time. And that time never comes.

None of these thought processes are based on fact. Anyone knows that good health can change overnight. Almost everyone has knowledge of someone whose health situation changed dramatically in a very short period of time. This risk obviously increases with age. So the chances of it happening to an individual are very real.

Using the health history of your parents as an exact guide for your own future health just doesn't work either due to the advances that have been made in medical science in recent years. It is obvious that more people are living longer and often need more care in the last years of life. And this care is extremely expensive.

For those who just refuse to even think about their future health care needs, the question must be asked "Who will be left to make this decision for you?"

Simply choosing not to think about the subject does not make the possibility of needing long-term care any less real. It simply defers the decision to those you love the most. They will often have to make decisions about your care at the last minute when the choices are extremely limited and unpleasant.

Our families will be well served if we all decide now to take responsibility for our own future health care needs and make sound decisions based on facts instead of unreasonable emotions.