Almost one-fourth (24.5%) of private long-term care insurance claims began in assisted living in 2018, and two percent more (26.5%) ended there, according to new data from the Los Angeles-based American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
The steadiness reflects trends across all settings where private long-term care insurance is used — most claims end where they first began, according to AALTCI Director Jesse Slome.
“For the most part, people with long-term care insurance begin care in a specific setting — typically their home — and that’s where the claims ends due to death, recovery or the exhaustion of policy benefits,” he said.
In 2018, 72.5% of all long-term care insurance claims ended because of death, 14% ended because of recovery and 13.5% of claims ended because benefits were exhausted, the AATLCI found in a January study, for which the association gathered data from seven national long-term care insurance companies.
“There are many misperceptions about long-term care insurance, and we conduct these studies to provide consumers with current and relevant insights,” Slome said. “For example, most consumers associate long-term care insurance with nursing home care. Less than one in four new LTC claims begin with someone receiving care in a nursing home.”
More than half (51.5%) of claims began in home settings in 2018, and 43% ended there, according to the association. By comparison, 23% began in nursing homes and 29.5% ended there. One percent of claims began and ended elsewhere.
