There are a lot of facts in this article but also a lot of half-truths. Here are a few I think should be addressed:

1. Most policies don't pay until you've been in a nursing home for 3 months - this is incorrect. While it is true that most policies sold have a 90-Day Elimination Period, many people satisfy this waiting period by using Home Care or care in an Assisted Living Facility. In fact, most policies sold today have a 0-day EP for Home Care and yet any days used at home count towards the 90-day EP. So it is very likely that by the time the client goes to the Nursing Home that there will be no Elimination Period to meet.
2. Policies pay a fixed daily amount - untrue. Older policies (and by older I mean ones sold in the 80's and 90's) were limited to the daily benefit but most carriers today pay monthly benefits. So if you buy a policy with a benefit of $200 per day, what you're really getting is the ability to spend up to $6000 a month, not limited by the daily amount.
3. Waiting periods are shorter with hybrids - not sure where this information came from but it's completely inaccurate. I haven't seen a hybrid yet with less than a 90-Day EP. If it exists, it certainly isn't the norm. In fact, since many LTC policies have a 0-day EP for Home Care, they will pay benefits faster than a hybrid will.
4. Using the example of 130% increase is unfair. That is certainly not the norm and only works to scare people away. There are many blocks of business that have had minimal rate increases (5% - 10%) or none at all. This more likely the norm than the 130% scenario.
5. Care is limited to specific HHC agencies or state-licensed professionals - while all policies will pay benefits if the caregiver is duly licensed as such in t their state, there are policies out there that will pay family members to provide care. There are also policies that will pay a cash benefit, which allows the client to hire anyone they want to.
6. Costs are high, risks are low and benefits are low - this is probably the most misinformed statement in this article. In my agency, our average premium is $2499 annually. That means a couple is paying about $200 a month for both of them or $100 each. Also, there are newer policies out that only pay benefits for a year or less (Genworth says 49% of their claims are for less than 1 year) that are very affordable and can provide meaningful benefits.
7. Comparing LTC to fire insurance isn't a fair analogy. The odds of your house catching on fire and burning to the ground are 1 in 1200. The odds of needing some LTC in your life are 1 in 4. It's estimated that 1 in 2 people over the age of 85 have some sort of dementia. As our population grays with 79 million baby boomers, LTC is going to become our most important issue. We must make plans to prepare for needing care because the government cannot possibly take care of us all.

I really appreciate that you are writing about long term care insurance, but please talk to LTC specialists for your information. Any one of them will be more than happy to get the right information to you. Most of us are passionate about this industry and want to see people take responsibility for their own care expenses. Not only that, but during such a difficult time, having this insurance can make it so much easier on everyone involved.