There's good information from previous LTCI threads in the FAQ section.
It's important to do some "what if" analysis, particularly if you are married.
Situation one: Hubby and wife both need care (at home or nursing home
Situation two: One dead (figure hubby and wife separate if the remaining income streams would be different) and one needing care).
Situation three: One staying at home, living with all the expenses that entails, the other in a nursing home.
When I did the math (not an in-depth analysis), situation three was more financially stressful than situation 1 or 2 (because it 1 and 2 allow for sale of the home to meet the LTC requirements, and no expenses that accompany life "on the outside": property taxes, travel, car, etc).
This insurance (if it has the needed inflation protection) is expensive. If your situation is as mine is (above) then it's most economical to buy a policy that would cover either member of the couple (since you probably only need to provide care for one person, but can't tel who it is in advance), rather than buying two individual policies.
I don't know about CalPers or the other group plans, but the federal LTCI only sells individual policies, not ones which provide pooled benefits for a couple.
Even on an individual basis, the federal LTCI is not appreciably cheaper than an individual policy for a person in good health. For someone at higher risk of needing LTC, the federal plan is a bargain.
I agree with Brewer on the immaturity of the product. Medical advances could significantly prolong life, but leave people needing LTC for a longer time, and maybe at even greater expense than today. Heck, even immigration reform could drive up costs (who do you think is mopping those day rooms?). All these costs will eventually be reflected in higher premiums, and the companies will have no trouble getting the higher premiums approved.
The fact that the group plans (esp govt ones) provide an intermediary with some muscle between you and the insurance company. That's probably worth some extra premiums.
Finally (again) this coverage is expensive. It's really worth doing a full exploration of how much you can self-insure before signing on the line. If you could tighten your belt and sell some resources (individually or as a couple) to help pay for care, then it makes sense to buy the minimum insurance needed to cover only the gap between the expected cost of care and what you can contribute. Buying any more coverage is a waste.
Due to some changes in federal laws, LTCI now provides some protection for your assets that didn't exist in the past. I chimed in on this in one of the FAQ threads. Basically, if you have an approved LTC policy, you no longer have to spend down to zero dollars before qualifying for LTC nder medicaid. Soem states also give you a tax break if you by LTCI (Ohio does).
- All that said--I still haven't taken the plunge.