Exclusive: Famous Soap Opera Star's Family Shares Frustration Over Long-Term Care Policy

Elizabeth Hubbard once played a doctor on television, but her role was recently reversed as she battled cancer in real life.

The popular soap opera star, who starred in “The Doctors” and “As the World Turns,” had a plan in place for life’s unexpected plot twists, but when she and her son counted on her insurance policy to cover costs of her care before her death, they say it didn’t help them.

NBC CT Responds was invited to her Roxbury home, just 10 days before she died, to see their frustration firsthand.

“This is my mother here. I mean, I, this is all I have. And this has been a situation in which I can't sleep at night,” said her son Jeremy Bennett.

Hubbard’s colon cancer diagnosis became dire at the start of the year.

Bennett says for two decades, his mom paid thousands and thousands of dollars into a long-term care policy since February 2003.

“She was scared because being a single mother and also having only an only child and having no immediate family, she wanted a policy to take care of her in case something happened in the end,” her son explained.

But when Hubbard needed the help, the policy’s intricacies shocked her son and Hubbard.

“It’s a financial carrot that they're dangling,” said Bennett.

Hubbard’s long-term care claim went into effect Jan. 13, 2023. But $363 of care each day wouldn’t be shelled out for 90 days, a policy deductible of sorts called an “elimination period.”

A term alone that sickened her son, “An elimination period. We’re talking about my mother here.”

Insurance experts say it’s to ensure long, not short-term care is needed.

Hubbard passed away April 8 - five days before the elimination period was set to end.

Every penny she paid into the policy was out of reach.

“The product is not so popular anymore for very obvious reasons. She wasn't tricked. She signed a policy, and the policy isn't paying what one would think it would pay,” said Melissa Hladek, a friend and certified senior care advisor.

She waited on hold with Bennett, after weeks and weeks of trying, to get information about when the elimination period was set to end and begin, among other questions he was having a hard time finding.

“I can’t even begin to explain to you how many times I call. I hold for I don’t know how long,” as they waited with hold music playing on repeat for almost an hour.

Hladek said a lot of the problem is the lack of compassion companies have as loved ones are navigating a loved one’s illness.

“He's seen his mother decline, this invincible person, start to decline, so it's very it's been, it's very heavy to take all of that in,” said Hladek.

“You should not have to learn vocabulary words when you're going through a crisis,” she added.

When someone did pick up, they were working in a noisy call center in the Philippines.

“There's so much background noise in the back of the call center that you feel like you're getting a warranty renewal for your computer. It's just, it's the impersonal part of that is what this is about,” said Hladek.

“You're trying to be strong, while someone is, you know, taking this final journey…and this policy that I thought was going to help us has basically been hindering us,” said Bennett.

“There’s no question it’s complicated and it’s confusing,” said Howard Bedline, the government relations and advocacy principal for The National Council on Aging. “There are lots of different variables and you’re shelling out a lot of money.”

The National Council on Aging says about half the people watching this story who reach their mid-60s or older will eventually need some kind of paid long-term care.

That means help with daily activities that keep you independent, like bathing or getting dressed.

Hladek and other experts NBC CT Responds spoke with commended Hubbard for planning ahead. Unfortunately, it didn’t help when she needed it.

Bennett says while people assume his famous mom was made of money, she was on a fixed income like many her age.

While he says Medicare helped cover some costs, he was left grieving with a pile of bills, too.

“On the one hand you can say, ‘Oh my goodness they paid all these years and got nothing out of it.’ On the other hand, you can make the argument that they paid all of these years that they had the benefit of knowing if they have significant long-term care needs, they had significant protection,” said Marc Cohen, a co-director of the UMass Boston Leading Age LTSS Center.

Not many long-term care policies exist these days as the insurance premiums have skyrocketed over the years. Hubbard received a notice hers would be increasing while she was sick.

So, what other options are there?

Experts say if constant help can’t come free from a loved one, it’s not cheap, and not covered by Medicare.

“Unfortunately, right now, most Americans are going to have to spend down their life savings to receive the care they need and depend upon Medicaid,” said Bedlin.

The National Council on Aging is pushing for policymakers to step up and help solve this aging crisis.

“We could use unbiased assistance with how we navigate this long-term care mess right now because right now, it’s just too expensive and virtually incomprehensible for the average American,” Bedlin said.

 Connecticut’s Department of Insurance says it can help loved ones navigate policies.

“And we can oftentimes cut through the red tape and help you get the information that you deserve from the insurance company,” said Gerard O'Sullivan, the department’s director of consumer affairs.

O’Sullivan advises families to look over any insurance policy every year to make sure the coverage still meets your needs.

NBC CT Responds consumer reporter Caitlin Burchill said, “It's hard, you don’t want to talk about your end of life.”

O’Sullivan said, “But it is something that you should have - these conversations with your loved ones, make sure that you're understanding what options there are because a lot of times they may be incapacitated and can't tell you at that time.”

The department shared this shopper’s guide with us to help educate viewers.

Under Connecticut law, a child can receive notifications about a parent’s insurance policy from the company with the consent of the policy holder of course.

The CT Insurance Department says this is one way for a loved one to stay in the loop.

Bennett says the stress of trying to figure out coverage took away precious time that he could have spent with his mom, who spent her life not just acting, but advocating for causes she believed in.

“We want no special treatment at all. We're not expecting that. But if there's a way we can actually show the rest of Connecticut residents, people in America that this happens to everybody. And that the, this indecision and the not knowing what's going on is enough to literally, I don't want to say the words because that's what we're talking about, but to put you in the grave,” said Bennett.

He says his mom wanted to tell her “darlings,” what she called her fans, that she’ll see them on the other side.