Insurers Fighting Claims of Elderly

Elderly patients who bought long-term care policies are finding their claims denied by companies calculating that they don’t have the resources or the energy to fight and are likely to die before their cases are settled. An investigation by Charles Duhigg identifies insurance companies that reject coverage for the aged and infirm at a much higher than normal rate.

“They’ll do anything to avoid paying, because if they wait long enough, they know the policyholders will die,” says Mary Beth Senkewicz, former senior executive at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Times highlights one 81-year-old woman subjected to a cynical campaign of obstruction to avoid paying her assisted-living expenses by Conseco, one of the nation’s largest insurers. (More health care stories.)