2. Changing family structure

Most people expect their children to care for them during an illness. However, demographics and travel have changed this custom. Many children move with their jobs to other states and establish families of their own. Thus, children are often unable to help their parents because of distance and other financial commitments.

Finally, with advances in medicine, the possibility of living longer increases the probability oflong-term medical expenses. In less then two hundred years, life expectancy has doubled. Men can expect to live to seventy-four and women to age seventy-seven. Currently 34,000,000 people, or twelve per cent of the population, are over sixty-five. That number is expected to grow to sixty-eight million, or twenty per cent of the population, by the year 2030. Considering these factors, the need for long-term care insurance is more important then ever as part of any financial plan for the future.