Survey: Californians Ignorant About LTC

By Staff Writer

May 08, 2002 at 08:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, May 8, 12:25 p.m. – The California Partnership for Long-Term Care, a government agency that promotes the purchase of private long-term care insurance, has released results of a statewide poll showing that most Californians are clueless about long-term care costs.

The survey, conducted by The Field Institute, San Francisco, reached more than 1,000 state residents.

Researchers found that only one out of five respondents knew that California nursing homes often charge more than $50,000 per year.

More than 55% of the respondents with private major medical insurance believed their policies would cover long-term care, or said they thought their policies might cover long-term care.

When researchers asked why respondents had not purchased long-term care insurance, the top three reasons were cost, distrust of the insurers, and a perceived lack of need.

The researchers also found a culture gap: many of the Asians and Latinos interviewed said they expected children or other relatives to provide or pay for any long-term care that might be needed.

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