Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) has been well-established as a means of protecting your financial security and wellness as you age. But there was a time when LTCI didn’t exist.
Gordon Associates Long Term Care Planning was founded just as LTCI rolled out. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that our founder, Murray Gordon, has long been called one of the “founding fathers” of LTCI.
As a company, we’ve seen it all over the past 50 years. We have a unique perspective on how LTCI has evolved over the past 50 years and valuable insight on the future of Long Term Care.
The Early Days of Long Term Care Insurance
Historically, local institutions, such as churches, had carried the responsibility of helping their communities age. However, the establishment of Social Security and Medicare programs meant that Americans began to experience improved access to quality healthcare. As healthcare improved and people began to live longer, it became clear that traditional medical insurance was not sufficient in cases where long term care was needed.
LTCI emerged as a solution to this development to help people plan for the financial consequences of a Long Term Care health event. The first LTCI policy was introduced 51 years ago. Gordon Associates, one of the nation’s original LTCI specialty brokers, opened its doors just one year later in 1975.
Present Day Long Term Care Insurance
Early LTCI policies primarily covered care in skilled nursing facilities. Today’s policies have evolved and cover many other options, including home health care and assisted living facilities. There are more types of Long Term Care products available today than ever before. Gordon Associates offers Traditional LTCI, Hybrid LTCI and Life Insurance with a Long Term Care Rider. Additionally, funding options have evolved over time, providing our clients beneficial ways to pay for their policy. While many Traditional LTCI carriers still only offer Lifetime Payments, which are subject to rate increases, Hybrid Life/LTCI policies not only offer multiple payment options, but their premiums are guaranteed (will never increase or change). Annuity Funded LTCI has become a popular solution to repositioning assets to pay for policies as well. That’s why Gordon Associates focuses on individualized advice and solutions.
The Future of Long Term Care Insurance
Predicting the future of any healthcare sector can be tricky. However, there are some projections we can make based on the previous 50 years of Long Term Care. For example, we know that the projected demand for long term care is projected to more than triple by 2050.
We can also expect innovations and improvements to care. Virtual care has already made a significant impact, and that’s expected to continue. Machine learning algorithms may help to make care more individualized and efficient. And many technological innovations will develop that support aging-in-place initiatives, allowing more folks to receive long term care from home.
LTCI is changing, adapting and innovating, too. Up until recently, there was only one Hybrid carrier we worked with that offered a shared plan for a couple. In 2023, another Hybrid carrier rolled out a competitively priced shared plan for couples.
As the industry continues to innovate, Gordon Associates will be sure to keep up–just as we have been doing for the last 50 years.
The Never-ending Importance of Long Term Care Planning
At Gordon Associates, we understand that Long Term Care planning plays an important role in securing the financial plan that you have worked hard to build for you and your family. Our main goal has been and will always be to educate our clients and advisors on their Long Term Care options. We know that not everyone needs a LTCI policy; however, everyone does need a Long Term Care plan.
We’ve learned a lot over the past 50 years–but our mission hasn’t changed. We’re here to work hard to make Long Term Care planning easy. Here’s to the next 50 years!
To help determine if long-term care (LTC) insurance is right for you, we are offering a FREE informational guide. This is a comprehensive booklet that will answer many of your questions about LTC and assist you with your health care planning.
To help determine if long-term care (LTC) insurance is right for you, we are offering a FREE informational guide. This is a comprehensive booklet that will answer many of your questions about tax breaks and incentives for LTCI for federal and state taxes.