Bill Benson

Despite having a better understanding of their long-term needs, Americans still underestimate the costs associated with long-term care. According to a poll conducted by the California Partnership for Long-Term Care, 52 percent of consumers said more than half of older Americans would need long-term care in their lifetimes, which is up 10 percent from six years earlier. Still, the actual percentage of older Americans who will need some type of long-term care is 70 percent. Participants also underestimated the costs of nursing-home care. But, despite being twice as likely to know typical health insurance plans don’t cover long-term care than they were when the survey was first conducted 17 years ago, 55 percent said they haven’t thought about purchasing long-term care insurance. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 18 percent of seniors have purchased individual long-term care insurance nationwide. More here.