There are approximately 8 million Americans with L.T.C. coverage, and nearly half reside in 10 states.
Newly released American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (A.A.L.T.C.I.) data shows that approximately 8 million Americans are covered by some form of L.T.C. policy. That said, between one third and one half of those policyholders live in only 10 states across the country.
The data is from 2017 but represents the latest issued by the N.A.I.C. annual study findings.
The A.A.L.T.C.I. based its data on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (N.A.I.C.) national study. With that information, they discovered that the largest number of residents with traditional forms of long-term care insurance coverage reside within the following ten states:
1. California – 634,572
2. Texas – 443,963
3. New York – 408,354
4. Florida – 341,816
5. Illinois – 332,446
6. Pennsylvania – 265,239
7. Virginia – 246,281
8. Ohio – 243,181
9. New Jersey – 218,164
10. Minnesota – 216,012
This data shows that long-term care insurance coverage numbers are continuing to decline.
The L.T.C. insurance sector has been rapidly shrinking. Over the years, insurers have found that it is far more expensive to provide this coverage than had been predicted a few decades ago. Since that time, the cost of health care has skyrocketed beyond what insurance company models had forecasted.
As a result, rates have been climbing through the roof, causing many people to drop their policies or fail to take them out in the first place. This trend has continued the need to raise rates and has caused many insurers to step out of the sector altogether. That said, the 2017 numbers showed that this decline may be leveling off to a certain degree.
“Most of the states reported nominal declines in the number of individuals with coverage,” said Jesse Slome, executive director of the A.A.L.T.C.I. “Only Kansas and Nevada reported year-over-year increases. He also underscored that only traditional long-term care insurance plans are taken under 
consideration by the N.A.I.C. data. “Over the past few years, far more individuals have opted for linked-benefit plans that combine a life insurance or annuity policy with one that may also provide payouts for qualifying long-term care expenses.”
