The Long Term Care Challenge

A recent Bloomberg View article explores the implications of General Electric’s multi-billion dollar losses from its long term care insurance unit and the challenge of caring for an aging population. In “What’s Bad for GE Will Be Worse for America”, the article opines:

“General Electric’s multi-billion-dollar loss in a unit that sold long-term-care insurance is a blow from which the iconic company is still reeling. But it’s also a harbinger of a much greater challenge for society at large: paying to care for the growing number of Americans who can’t look after themselves.”

As noted in previous blogs, the long term care insurance industry is in financial tatters and as a result, most companies no longer even offer insurance coverage. However, the article notes that the problem of caring for the elderly will only get worse. By 2050, the U.S. will have almost 90 million people aged 65 and over, and more than half will need long-term care at some point. Since private insurance can’t solve the problem by itself, more and more people will be turning to Medicaid which will cause significant financial issues for individual states. As recommended in prior blogs, the best solution is to have a long term care plan for yourself and your loved ones and not to rely on the government.