The Wall Street Journal mentioned several new products that insurers plan to offer in the next year.

• "Shared care" features that will allow couples to piggyback off each other's policy should either run out of benefits.
• "Combination contracts" that marry a long term care policy with an annuity-meaning that money not used for long term care will be paid out as part of the annuity.
• More employer-sponsored policies.

These initiatives come as the costs of long term care-which include nursing-home and assisted-living  bills and the price of home health care-are increasing at a rate nearly double the that of overall inflation.  The average cost for one year in a nursing home is nearly $70,000, while the average hourly rate for a home-health aide tops $18 an hour, equivalent to more than $37,000 a year.  These costs are sharply higher in major metropolitan areas.  Traditional health insurance and Medicare generally do not cover these expenses.

Congress recently tightened eligibility for Medicaid coverage of nursing home costs.  That means more middle-class Americans will likely be on their own later in life when it comes to paying for long term care.

WSJ Dec 27 (Subscription Required)