The Old-Age Bill That’s Crushing Genworth

Family Assistance

Genworth says that even with higher premiums, its old products are a good deal for customers. Despite his higher costs, Mueller says he’s sticking with his policy, given his age, the amount he’s already spent in premiums, and what nursing-home care could end up costing. His main concern, he said, is whether Genworth will still be strong enough to pay for a nursing home if he ever needs one.

Fact is, long-term care insurance might make little sense for many people. More than half of all elder care tends to be provided informally by family members. Government programs cover much of the rest.

Such insurance works best for people who want more costly care than is covered by Medicaid, according to Jeff Brown, a professor at the University of Illinois.

Karen Marshall said she’s learned how costly care can be without the insurance. She took leave from a high-paying job as an attorney at Dewey & LeBoeuf when she was in her 30s to take care of her mother in her final months of battling cancer. Soon after her mother died, Marshall’s father’s health deteriorated, and she left the firm.

‘Daunting Problem’

Marshall, 40, was spending her weekends driving back and forth from Washington to the home where she grew up in southern Virginia. Working as a corporate lawyer wasn’t an option.

“I just kind of felt like I had my back against the wall,” she said. “I spent so much time worried about dropping the ball for someone, whether it be my dad or work.”

Her father is now in an assisted-living facility that costs more than $2,500 a month, and Marshall says he’ll eventually have to move to a nursing home that would cost twice as much. Marshall, who takes on legal work to pay the bills, and started a nonprofit to aid other caregivers like herself, has been helping cover the costs. She says her dad will eventually end up on Medicaid.

Policy makers have been trying to figure out how to cope with the nation’s elder-care bill but so far have come up with few answers. A plan for long-term care insurance tied to the Affordable Care Act was scrapped by the government.

Genworth says insurance is just part of the solution to paying for long-term care. The company is exploring new products that could have more limited benefits and cost less, and ideas like government partnerships.

“It’s a daunting problem for the whole country, really,” Genworth’s Conklin said. “We at Genworth have really committed to try to come up with better solutions for people.”