You are so right. I hope my edits took care of some of those eggnog mistakes.

Enjoy the holidays.

Forgive me; I have had too much caffeine today.

Most studies on LTCi seem like little more than propaganda financed by insurers. Choosing LTCi is chosing ten penny nails. It differs substantially by benefits, cost structure, and even stability of the insurers.

Please do not misunderstand, many seniors who do not have LTCi should have it; however, most of those who are looking for it are ill prepared to compare policies and insurers. Rather than providing the information needed to evaluate them, studies usually only reinforce the idea that “everyone needs it.”

I do not care who the advocate is, Dr. Stucki, Stephen Moses, or some other authority on the subject, the acquisition of LTCi and the origination of a reverse mortgage should be two entirely different and separate transactions entered into at entirely different and separate times. This is not to say seniors should not be free to use their proceeds to acquire LTCi; they should.

For most older seniors, a reverse mortgage is difficult enough to fully comprehend, adding a product that has even more variations to contend with is hardly appropriate. Here cross selling is not the real problem it is placing too much pressure on the senior to make too many decisions of a substantial financial nature all at one time. This is one reason why I fully credit HUD with making the right decision when they stood up to the Clinton Administration and Congress and refused to implement the enacted provision that allowed lower MIP if HECM proceeds were used to acquire LTCi. The G. W. Bush Administration and Congress did exactly the right thing when it eradicated that provision out of the U.S. Code in HERA.

Too few seniors have properly evaluated the real value of LTCi. At the same time, acquiring LTCi can be wasted money for those who cannot obtain enough of it or do not properly match their most probable risks against available benefits. Benefits should also be compared to those provided through other avenues such as government and nonprofit programs for seniors. Then there is the issue of evaluating insurers.

All middle aged and older adults should evaluate LTCi but not everyone who evaluates it should get it. For many seniors, LTCi could be far more beneficial than life insurance. Even some LTCi policies provide limited life insurance features.