U.S. residents may skimp on long-term care insurance (LTCI) for reasons other than abject ignorance.
The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE), Arlington, Va., raises that possibility in a summary of results from a new survey of about 1,000 U.S. residents ages 18 and older that was conducted in late October and early November.
LIFE commissioned the survey in support of the November 2011 Long Term Care Insurance Awareness Month campaign.
The United States has about 100 million residents ages 50 and older, but only 8 million have LTCI, LIFE says.
LIFE cites government figures suggesting that about 70% of people over age 65 will end up needing at least some LTC services.
One theory is that people fail to buy LTCI because they do not understand how many older people need LTC or how much LTC costs.