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Family Structure and Long‐Term Care Insurance Purchase

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  • Courtney Harold Van Houtven
  • Norma B. Coe
  • R. Tamara Konetzka

Abstract

While it has long been assumed that family structure and potential sources of informal care play a large role in the purchase decisions for long‐term care insurance (LTCI), current empirical evidence is inconclusive. Our study examines the relationship between family structure and LTCI purchase and addresses several major limitations of the prior literature by using a long panel of data and considering modern family relationships, such as the presence of stepchildren. We find that family structure characteristics from one's own generation, particularly about one's spouse, are associated with purchase, but that few family structure attributes from the younger generation have an influence. Family factors that may indicate future caregiver supply are negatively associated with purchase: having a coresidential child, signaling close proximity, and having a currently working spouse, signaling a healthy and able spouse, that long‐term care planning has not occurred yet or that there is less need for asset protection afforded by LTCI. Dynamic factors, such as increasing wealth or turning 65, are associated with higher likelihood of LTCI purchase. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Courtney Harold Van Houtven & Norma B. Coe & R. Tamara Konetzka, 2015. "Family Structure and Long‐Term Care Insurance Purchase," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(S1), pages 58-73, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:s1:p:58-73
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3145
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    2. Coe, Norma B. & Goda, Gopi Shah & Van Houtven, Courtney Harold, 2023. "Family spillovers and long-term care insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Wang, Qun & Abiiro, Gilbert Abotisem & Yang, Jin & Li, Peng & De Allegri, Manuela, 2021. "Preferences for long-term care insurance in China: Results from a discrete choice experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).

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