Long Term Care Insurance News

The Wall Street Journal recently investigated the growing trend for states to join up with private insurance companies to market long term care insurance. It found that many states are trying to curb the high costs of long term care paid under Medicare, the joint federal-state health insurance program for low income people by joining up with private insurance companies to encourage citizens to purchase private long term care insurance. These partnerships have come under increasing criticism because they are pressuring people who would otherwise qualify for free medical care, to pay for insurance. The Wall Street Journal cited sources who stated that it was unfair to encourage these people who are struggling to pay for medications to spend what little money they have on insurance premiums when their health care would already be paid for by Medicare. Critics argue that the federal government and state governments are simply shifting these costs to low-income people, when in fact these are the very same people which Medicare was designed to help.