WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Most U.S. baby boomers surveyed said they believed that Medicare or "other health insurance" will pay for their long-term care but are wrong.
The survey of 2,000 U.S. baby boomers ages 45 to 61, by StrategyOne for America’s Health Insurance Plans, found 54 percent of baby boomers said they think Medicare will pay for long-term care services, while 44 percent said they believe "other health insurance" will pay.
In reality, Medicare doesn't, cover long-term care indefinitely and Medicaid will cover these services but only after individuals to spend down nearly all of their assets, said Robert Moran, of StrategyOne.
"Baby boomers believe they have more coverage than they actually do, giving them a false feeling of financial preparedness to handle long-term care costs," Moran said in a statement.
The survey found that 30 percent of baby boomers think they have long-term care coverage, but the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says only some 5.2 million U.S. adults have long-term care insurance -- even if all those covered were boomers, which they are not, that would only account for 6.6 percent of the U.S. boomer population.
The survey conducted from September to October has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.
