Long Term Care Rip-Off

When it comes to nursing home care for the frail elderly, every family is on its own. States, with federal support, only pick up the tab when you've become destitute. That's why so many seniors buy long-term care insurance -- so they won't become a burden to their families or a ward of the state in their old, old age.

This morning's New York Times has one of the most heartrending, anger-provoking stories I've read in a long time. It involves a handful of health insurance companies that have erected a claims structure designed to deny the frail elderly the very product that they've paid for.

The reporting is drawn from court cases filed by enterprising attorneys who represent the unfortunate families robbed by these insurance companies. At numerous points in the story, former insurance regulators are quoted expressing anger about their inability to curb the companies' abusive tactics.

Are these the same regulators who will police the individual health care insurance plans that will be sold in Massachusetts and California?