“The tax deductibility of tax-qualified long-term care insurance premiums is an incredible benefit potentially for many aging Americans,” states Jesse Slome, director emeritus of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI).

“The 2026 deductible limits are significant and few people, especially small and mid-sized business owners, are aware that premiums paid for long-term care insurance may be tax deductible.”

The just announced 2026 limit for an individual age 70 or more is $6,200, according to AALTCI. This represents a 3 percent increase from the current 2025 limit. “Many policies are purchased by couples which means they could deduct up to $12,400 next year depending on their age,” Slome explains.

Only long-term care policies that meet the federal government’s tax-qualified requirements qualify for a potential tax deduction, the long-term care insurance expert notes. “Most of the linked benefit or hybrid life insurance policies, the ones more popular today do not qualify for a possible tax benefit,” Slome explains.

“Two types of individuals can gain the most benefit from the IRS deductions,” Slome adds. “First business owners, who may be able to deduct the full cost of their insurance protection. They could even benefit by having a paid-in-full policy when they reach retirement age.”

In addition, people who have retired from jobs can benefit. “That’s when income levels enable more people to reach the required health expense threshold to make premiums deductible,” Slome acknowledges. “That potential tax deduction can be a huge benefit after retirement and something seniors should take into consideration when looking into their long-term care protection options.”

2026 Maximum Deduction Limits Long-Term Care Insurance

The following are the new 2026 deductible limits per-individual (2025 limits in brackets):

Attained Age Before Close of Taxable Year     2026 Limit    (2025)
40 or less                                                                     $500        ($480)
More than 40 but not more than 50                      $930        ($900)
More than 50 but not more than 60                   $1,860    ($1,800)
More than 60 but not more than 70                   $4,960    ($4,810)
More than 70                                                            $6,200   ($6,020)

To learn more about long-term care insurance and see a history of tax deductibility limits, go to https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/tax-for-business.php.

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“If you live a long life the chances are very high that you’ll eventually require care,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization. ”When long-term care services are needed most people depend on family members or loved ones, while others have to pay from their retirement savings or income. A small percentage of people today have purchased long-term care insurance to pay for their care.”

Long-term care insurance policies were first introduced in the 1980s and now protect several million aging Americans’ “You must secure this insurance protection when you are still able to health qualify,” stresses Slome. The ideal time to apply is between ages 55 and 65, the long-term care insurance expert points out.

“You are buying protection for your future,” Slome explains. “While some people start using their policy benefits relatively soon after buying, typically as a result of an accident or illness, most won’t qualify for policy benefits for a number of years.”

According to data just released by the Association, just over a quarter (27%) of new long-term care insurance claims begin when policyholders are between ages 80 and 84. For the first time, the organization was able to compare data for traditional long-term care insurance as well as linked-benefit long-term care. The latter typically consists of life insurance or annuities that can also provide a long-term care benefit.

“Each year the nation’s long-term care insurance companies pay out billions in benefits to seniors with this valuable coverage,” adds Craig Matesky, President and CEO of ACACIA Insurance Services. “Today, there are multiple long-term care insurance options that are affordable and more important will cover you for home care, assisted living, nursing home or memory care.”

Access the latest 2024 long-term care insurance statistics and data on the Association’s website at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Jesse Slome is director and also directs the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance.

The post New Report Reveals Ages When Claims Begin For Long-Term Care Insurance appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Claim benefit payouts for policyholders with traditional long-term care insurance coverage have grown from 2020 when insurers paid out $11.6 Billion,” reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director.  “The increase in benefit payouts was expected by the insurers.”

According to AALTCI’s Slome, the amount reported represents claims paid for individuals with traditional or health-based long-term care insurance.  “Data for linked-benefit policies is hard to calculate,” the long-term care insurance expert explains. “First, policies tend to need years before claims are paid to aging policyholders. In addition, there are so many different variations of these policies,” Slome acknowledges.

For 2023, the Association reports that benefits were paid to about 353,000 policyholders. “This represents a nominal increase over the prior year,” Slome shares. For 2022 AALTCI reported benefits were paid to 345,000 claimants. During the calendar-year 2020, AALTCI data reported 325,000 policyholders received claim benefits.

“Long-term care insurance benefits are mostly paid to individuals who receive benefits for qualifying care in their own home or in an assisted living facility,” Slome points out. “Benefits also are paid when policyholders require care in skilled nursing home settings.”

The AALTCI data is gathered and corroborated with leading industry actuaries including historical average annual growth rates from the last 10 years from companies’ year-end reporting data.

Access the 2024 Long-Term Care insurance Price Index and other current data and statistics at the Association’s website. The organization reports industry costs for individuals and couples at ages 55, 60 and 65. Go to https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning. Since 1998 AALTCI has supported insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid long-term care solutions.  To access information, go to https://www.aaltci.org or call the organization at 818-597-3227.

The post Paid Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Increased In 2023 appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

Click to access 2024 Long term care insurance statistics

Costs for linked benefit long-term care insurance coverage are lower than a year ago according to the 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index released today by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“Great news for aging individuals who are thinking about their risk of needing care one day,” states Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization. The 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index is the organization’s annual compilation of costs for both traditional and linked benefit long-term care insurance.

”Interest rates are significantly higher than a year ago and that has enabled some insurers to reprice their products,” Slome explains. “Someone applying for new coverage in 2024 can obtain more coverage for less cost than basically the identical coverage purchased a year ago.”

According to the 2024 Price Index, a single 55-year-old male purchasing coverage that would provide around $520,000 of potential long-term care benefits at age 90 could expect to pay $5,022 in annual premiums. The same coverage would have cost $5,600 according to the Association’s 2023 LTC Price Index.

“Savings were higher for women according to our analysis and those who paid for coverage with a single lump sum would enjoy greater savings this year,” Slome added.

“There are more insurers offering various types of linked benefit products that combine life insurance with the potential for long-term care benefits,” Slome explained. “There are significant differences between many of these products and going on price alone or just a single recommendation from your financial representative isn’t always the best course of action.”

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. To learn more or to connect with linked-benefit long-term care insurance specialists visit the organization’s website or call 818-597-3227.

The post Linked Benefit Long-Term Care Insurance Prices Drop Up To 27 Percent appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

Click to access 2024 Long term care insurance statistics

The annual Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index was pre-released today by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“People have many misconceptions about long-term care insurance and we post data to help them better understand what can be a confusing topic,” states Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization.

The 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index is the organization’s annual compilation of costs for both traditional and linked benefit long-term care insurance.

“First, prices for traditional long-term care insurance can vary significantly depending on which insurance company you select,” Slome points out. “You generally only buy this protection once so selecting the right insurer is of upmost importance.”

The long-term care insurance expert pointed out that the vast majority of long-term care coverage purchased in 2023 consisted of linked-benefit policies. “Consumers like the ‘don’t use it – don’t lose it’ aspect of a life plus LTC policy,” Slome agrees. “But it’s not like this comes without a cost.” The 2024 Price Index attempts to compare premium costs for virtually equal coverage under both options.

The 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index along with other statistics and data can be accessed via the Association’s website at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Jesse Slome is recognized as a leading long-term care insurance expert at https://www.aaltci.org/for_media/.

To learn more or to connect with long-term care insurance specialists visit the organization’s website or call 818-597-3227.

The post 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index Published appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Claim benefit payouts for policyholders with traditional long-term care insurance coverage grew from $12.3 Billion in 2021,” reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director.  “The increase in benefit payouts is expected as policyholders age and start to require care.” For calendar-year 2018 the Association reported that long-term care insurers paid out $10.3 Billion.

According to Slome, the amount reported represents claims for those owning traditional or health-based long-term care insurance.  “Data for linked-benefit policies is harder to calculate because there are so many different variations of these policies,” Slome acknowledges. “Certainly, some of these policies are paying out benefits for those needing long-term care but the value may still be nominal.”

For 2022, the Association reports that benefits were paid to about 345,000 policyholders. “This represents an increase over the prior year,” Slome shares. For 2021 AALTCI reported benefits were paid to 336,000 claimants. During the calendar-year 2018, AALTCI data reported 303,000 policyholders received claim benefits.

“Long-term care insurance benefits are mostly paid to individuals who receive benefits for qualifying care in their own home or in an assisted living facility,” Slome points out. “Benefits also are paid when policyholders require care in skilled nursing home settings.” The AALTCI data is gathered and corroborated with leading industry actuaries including historical average annual growth rates from the last 10 years from companies’ year-end reporting data.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning. Since 1998 AALTCI has supported insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid long-term care solutions.  To access information, go to https://www.aaltci.org or call the organization at 818-597-3227.

The post Paid Long-Term Care Insurance 2022 Claims Grow appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Inflation is not the cause of rate increases,” cites Jesse Slome, director of the organization. “There are a variety of factors that make it necessary for insurers to raise rates on older long-term care policies. We wanted a current resource that provides consumers with updated and relevant information.”

According to Slome, insurers have been filing rate increase requests on certain classes of older policies. “The largest requests are associated with policies that included unlimited or lifetime benefits as well as those with a 5 percent compounded inflation growth factor.”

The Association’s website reports that 29% of rate increases were between 10 and 19% with 31% between 20 and 29%. “We do hear of significantly larger requests,” Slome notes. “We understand that people are upset when they are notified about rate increases but there are always options to mitigate the circumstances.”

The long-term care Association reports the between 50 and 60% of policyholders chose to pay the increase and keep their original policy provisions. “Clearly they are older and realize the value of what they purchased as well as the fact that they likely could no longer obtain long-term care insurance at any price,” Slome explains.

To learn more about long-term care insurance rate increases visit the Association’s updated information center.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid long-term care solutions.  To connect to a specialist for long-term care insurance costs call 818-597-3227.

The post Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increase Data Shared By Association appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Total national expenditures are predicted to grow to $266.2 billion by 2028,” states Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  ”That is a 58 percent increase from the latest actual reported expenditure of $168.5 billion for 2018.”

The report predicts the national growth of expenditures for nursing care facilities as well as Continuing Care Retirement Communities.  “Total expenditures are expected to reach $210.7 billion in 2023,” Slome shared.  “The concerning aspect is that out-of-pocket expenses are expected to grow from $44.8 billion (2018) to $52.7 billion in 2023.  By 2028, out-of-pocket expenses that will be imposed on families is projected to reach $59.4 billion.”

Nursing Home Care Expenditures Data

Increased costs will account for some of the increase Slome acknowledges.  “So will the increase in the number of aging Americans who will need care,” he adds.  “The reality is that people age and need care.  When they do, someone will be facing bills.”

The Association director shared that the percentage of costs expected to be paid by Medicaid will grow.  “Nearly $50 billion was paid by Medicaid in 2018,” Slome shared.  “The projection for 2028 is that the cost will rise to $73 billion, a 59.1 percent increase.  Is this financially feasible, only time will tell.”

Slome suggested that insurance agents drip continuing information to their clients starting around age 50.  “Educating consumers is paramount to the process of creating awareness of the risk and need,” Slome advised.  “Government reports of projected out-of-pocket risks that will face individuals comes with added trust factors and can be a most valuable tool to use.”

Access Latest Long-Term Care Insurance Statistics 

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions.  To access the latest data regarding long-term care need and insurance, visit the Association’s Data Center at www/aaltci.org/LTCFacts-2022/.

To obtain long-term care insurance costs from a long-term care insurance specialist call the organization at 818-597-3227 or visit their website www.aaltci.org.

The post Out-Of-Pocket Costs For Nursing Home Care Expenditures To Grow appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Short-term care insurance is one of the best kept secrets for men and women who have issues when it comes to long-term care insurance planning,” states Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“It is the ideal option for those who cannot health qualify, or those who are too old or who merely want a lower-cost option.”

Short-term care insurance policies are available in many states.

This special form of protection can provide similar benefits to traditional long-term care insurance.  While traditional long-term care insurance companies generally stop accepting applications after age 75, short-term care policies may be purchased up to age 85.

“Polices can pay for care at home as well as in skilled settings such as nursing homes,” Slome explains.  “There are some significant differences and even some advantages that make this an option worth considering.”

The long-term care insurance expert notes that short-term care insurance policies are generally simpler to health-qualify for.  “There are plans with just a few health-related questions,” Slome adds.  “Many older men and women have some existing health issues that make them ineligible for traditional long-term care insurance.  Short-term care coverage may be just what the doctor ordered.”

Short-term care insurance policies generally charge women the same premium as men according to Slome.  “That can be a significant advantage especially for older women on their own,” he notes.  Traditional LTC insurance policies generally charge women around 30-to-40 percent more than men.

The Association’s 1-Minute Primer provides an overview of the benefits of these policies.  A map showing states where the policies are available is included.  Pricing examples for both men and women ages 65 and 75 are shown.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions.

To access the short-term care insurance information, visit the organization’s website at https://www.aaltci.org/short-term-care-insurance/.   To obtain short-term care insurance costs from a specialist in both short-term and long-term care insurance call the organization at 818-597-3227 or visit their website www.aaltci.org.

The post Short-Term Care Insurance 2022 Pricing appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

CLICK TO ACCESS 2022 Long-Term care Insurance Statistics

The 2022 price index for new long-term care insurance policies was published today by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI).

“Prices for new long-term care insurance have remained stable,” reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director.   The annual report analyzes various standard policy levels for individuals who are ages 55, 60 and 65.

According to the 2022 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index a traditional policy valued at $165,000 in benefits can cost $950 annually for a 55-year-old male.   The equivalent coverage for a 55-year-old woman is $1,500.

“The index looks at policy costs available to the largest number of prospective individuals,” Slome explains.  “There definitely were options that could cost significantly more but that dissuades consumers from considering this important protection,” Slome adds.  The policy cost analysis found that costs between average and highest available policies could range from20 to 50 percent.

2022 Price Index – Rates Stable

“Prices for traditional long-term care insurance remained stable to last year for a number of reasons,” cites Slome.  “Insurers committed to the market have experience when evaluating the factors that go into pricing this insurance.”   Today, policies tend to limit the level of protection available with consumers willing to assume some of the financial responsibility the long-term care insurance expert adds.

“In addition, investment returns have remained relatively stable,” Slome adds.   Insurers depend on investing collected premiums.  “Premiums paid by policyholders only account for part of the dollars that insurers accumulate to pay future anticipated claims,” he notes.

The 2022 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index reported that a couple both age 65 could expect to pay $3,750 combined.  The two policies could provide each with $165,000 of future benefits.  Adding an option that increased future benefits by three percent annually would cost the couple almost twice as much ($7,150 combined).

The 2022 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index data can be accessed on the Association’s website.  The report compares costs for traditional long-term care insurance as compared to linked benefit options. To access, go to www.aaltci.org/LTCFacts-2022.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance advocates for the importance of long-term care planning.   The organization connects consumers with knowledgeable professionals who are independent advisors.  These specialists can provide information along with long-term care insurance quotes and policy comparisons for both traditional and linked benefit long-term care insurance options.

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