About
Demystifying Long-Term Care for the Modern Family.
The Long Term Care Desk is an independent editorial publication for the 6.5 million Americans who already own a long-term care insurance policy — and for the family members helping them navigate what comes next.
Why we exist
Most coverage of long-term care insurance is written for people deciding whether to buy. The Long Term Care Desk is written for people who already did. Existing policyholders facing rate-hike letters. Adult children helping parents through a claim. People deciding whether reducing their daily benefit makes more sense than dropping the policy entirely.
That focus shapes everything we publish. Our Rate-Hike Tracker compiles approved rate increases by carrier and state, sourced from NAIC SERFF filings and state insurance department records. Our analysis cluster covers contingent nonforfeiture math, claim-trigger documentation, reduction-option trade-offs, and the regulatory mechanics that drive premium changes. Our calculator helps existing policyholders model whether self-insuring from this point forward beats carrying the policy through.
We also cover alternatives — Medicaid HCBS waivers, hybrid life/LTC, self-insurance portfolio modeling, family-funded care — for the smaller audience still researching whether to buy at all.
Editorial Mission Statement
What we cover
Rate-Hike Navigation
Per-carrier rate-filing history. State-by-state DOI approval patterns. The five real options when your premium jumps: accept, reduce, contingent nonforfeiture, drop, or appeal.
Carrier Intelligence
Honest analysis of major carriers’ product mechanics, in-force book management, and exit history. Sourced from NAIC filings and state insurance department records.
Math, Not Marketing
Self-insurance breakeven calculator. Hybrid vs traditional present-value math. Inflation-rider analysis. Disclosed assumptions, scenario outputs.
Claims & Alternatives
ADL trigger documentation. Cognitive impairment qualification. Medicaid HCBS waivers as the actual answer when insurance isn’t. Family-funded care models.
Editorial structure
Integrity is the bedrock of our desk. Our editorial process operates independently from any commercial relationship. Every post passes through a multi-stage review.
Primary-source compilation
Every claim sourced from NAIC SERFF filings, state insurance department public records, AAALTCI industry data, the Genworth Cost of Care Survey, CMS Nursing Home Compare, or KFF Medicaid trackers. No secondhand citations.
Numerical verification
All math claims (premium projections, present-value calculations, breakeven analysis) cross-checked against primary actuarial logic. Disclosed assumptions on every published number.
Adversarial review
A second analyst pressure-tests every mechanism claim, every causal assertion, every numerical example. Errors get caught and corrected before publication, not after.
How we make money
The Long Term Care Desk is funded transparently. We do not sell insurance. We do not collect commissions on policy sales. We do not accept paid placement.
Display advertising
Standard programmatic display ads (Google AdSense). Ad placements do not influence editorial coverage and are clearly distinguishable from editorial content.
Advisor referrals
Where appropriate, we may refer readers to fee-only fiduciary financial advisors via established networks (e.g., NAPFA directories, Zoe Financial). Compensated relationships are clearly labeled and excluded from editorial recommendations.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAID PRODUCT PLACEMENT OR SPONSORED CONTENT
Carriers are not given pre-publication review or right of reply. Our analysis of carrier products and rate-filing patterns is editorially independent.