Can the government incentivize the purchase of private long-term care insurance? Evidence from the Partnership for Long-Term Care

Abstract

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, I show that state adoption of Partnerships for Long-Term Care incentivized the purchase of private long-term care insurance, particularly for households displaying the greatest risk aversion and long-term financial planning horizons.

Keywords:

• Partnership for Long-Term Care
• long-term care insurance
• risk aversion
• financial planning horizon

JEL Classification:

• H31
• H50

Acknowledgements

The opinions and conclusions are solely those of the author and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of the Social Security Administration, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, or Kent State University. All errors are my own. I would like to thank Gary Engelhardt for helpful comments.

Funding

The research was supported by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College funded through a grant from the US Social Security Administration as part of the Sandell Grant Program.