I think you distort a few issues here. Disclaimer: I have LTCi, waitlisted on two CCRCs, and can easily age in place given our financial resources and in a home that was customized for a disabled child and perfect for aging seniors, with 2 bedrooms on the ground floor, wheelchair accessibility to every corner of the house, an elevator, zero entry in-ground pool, ramps or lifts to enter every access point, and, in fact, for several months we accomodated my disabled MIL and BIL in our home.
It seems we agree on this part of my post:
"Discussions about CCRCs, LTCI, etc are really discussions about how to manage the last phase of our lives; specifically, how we guard against asset depletion..."
No distortion intended; it's simply my view on how to address the basic issue. I prefer the CCRC approach because it's a better way to address the tail risk that is financially catastrophic to most of us.
I applaud that you've clearly planned for this stage of life (you have LTCI, intend to enter a CCRC, and have a home that provides physical access). However, that's a very different thing than having
"the financial resources to do so [age in place] in circumstances that involve a long, slow decline." The cost of bringing AL or SN care to your home, which is what would be required, goes well beyond modifying one's home and dwarfs the already high cost of an AL or SN facility. For example, my neighbor's husband (mid 70s) had a stroke 7 yrs ago; very common since cardio-vascular disease is our #1 killer. He's still there mentally and has decent quality of life but, requires a wheelchair and needs continuous home care. The cost for that is 3-4 times the monthly cost of a SN facility here (ie: $30-40k/month). I live in California but, the ratios will be the same wherever one lives. Fortunately, they are very well off and can afford "home care". But, I certainly couldn't, nor could the vast majority of those on this forum.
First, Medicaid facilities are not all terrrible. Some are, and some aren't. I know first hand from having my mother in a Medicaid facility for 11 years; and many Medicaid facilities are private-pay first and Medicaid admit later when it becomes unaffordable for the resident to private pay (i.e. you run out of money and become impoverished.) Right now, we're looking for a skilled nursing facility in our area for BIL and the best one is a Medicaid facility with a restricted number of Medicaid beds, but most beds are private pay. And the difference in treatment is that private pay affords you more privacy -- semi-private room residence.
You're correct that not all Medicaid facilities are terrible. My DM was in one for the last few years of her life, and it was adequate. BTW, that was after DM tried to "age in place" with a home health worker, in a single level mobility-adapted home, followed by my DS/BIL trying to care for her at their house; neither worked well or for very long. My real point here is that I think we all want to be able to 'choose' where we are; I know I do. And, I want to do my best to make those choices in a way that does not involve asset depletion, which is required for Medicaid.
Second, if you have the resources to take up space in a CCRC you'll likely be able to age in place. If you have LTCi, you're likely in a better position to age in place at home if your LTCi covers home care, as does mine.
Absolutely incorrect. The cost of "aging in place" dwarfs the cost of living in an AL or SK facility. See above.
Third, LTCi is insurance; comparing it to a CCRC-Type A appears legitimate, as this major CCRC does (at least in Matthews, NC) when offering Type A contracts, and Type B and C contracts with discounts for LTCi:
https://www.actsretirement.org/. And BTW, my LTCi works well with the Type B or C contracts.
I'm not sure I understand the point here. I viewed the website, and it really doesn't tell me much. Perhaps you can expand. What I do know is that a CCRC will be thrilled that a prospective resident has LTCI; just like they'll be thrilled that one has other sources of income (SS, pensions, great primary & secondary health care, etc.). That makes you a lower risk prospect and, frankly, deserves some level of discount.