You're a really good snake oil salesman. I'll bet you could sell ice to Eskimos. I'll give you a different answer - I want, and expect, the sellers of a long term policy that won't be used for 20, 30 or even 40 years, to exercise enough diligence so that people can afford the premiums when they need the services. That means pricing LTC correctly up front when the policies are sold. Right now it's a bait and switch game. Let's say my premium at 55 was $1,400 a year. Easily affordable at that time. In 15 years it goes up to $2,500 a year. If I'm still working, that's probably doable. If not, something has to go. But at 25 years, when I'm 80, and premiums jump to $4,000 and I am retired and living on savings and SS, I may well have to drop the policy. This is classic bait and switch - I want LTC companies to tell me that coverage is available at what price when I need it or why should I even buy it? I have no desire to pay premiums for 25 years and then find myself priced out of the market.
The fact that LTC is not subsidized by employers or the government is even more reason to have fair and uniform pricing - let's call it regulation - if the premiums will ultimately be 3 times what I start with, then I expect that should be factored in and that I would pay higher premiums up front and that I could then make an informed decision now - not have to worry about it in 25 years when my brain may be mush.
So the answer to your question :"Would you prefer the LTC companies just charge 2-4x the current premiums for everybody from day one so that they never go up?" is damn right I would. That way I would know upfront that I can't afford it rather than being scammed 25 years later.
LTC policies are sold through fear - do you want to be a burden to your kids, do you want to be a smelly medicaid facility, etc. The problem is that, even if you buy the policy, you may not be able to carry it through to when you need it. If you analyze it with a clear and unemotional mind, factor in the cost, the probable rate increases, and the possibility that the firm you use could well disappear in 25 years, it looks like a really bad deal for the consumer. And all this doesn't even include all the crap I've seen people go through when they actually try to collect on a claim.
Right now the LTC companies are like the mob - you pay for protection, but you never really know if you will be able to keep paying so you can get it.