People often purchase long-term care insurance policies to protect themselves from the exorbitant out-of-pocket cost of long-term health care. One major issue with long-term care is that a third of the people with these policies at the age of 65 will lapse in their coverage before they die according to a new Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College analysis. When a person’s policy lapses they forfeit all benefits at a time when many people will need them most. Lapses can be common among people with cognitive impairments, this article describes them as “forgetful lapsers.” People that suffer from cognitive impairments might have trouble remembering to pay certain bills, and if they forget to pay the premiums on their long-term care they could lose coverage at a time they really need it.
See Richard Eisenberg, How Long-Term Care Insurance Policies Backfire, Next Avenue, November 6, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
