Money Hopefully Wasted

Find out if long-term-care coverage is right for you.

FOLKS WHO GULP HARD AND map out their long-term-care strategy, whether it's buying a long-term-care policy or self-insuring, say there's comfort in doing so. "You should be prepared for the worst-case scenario and hope for the best," says 58-year-old Marta Ferragut of Silver Spring, Md., who purchased a policy last December. "I'm hoping I won't need it. I'm hoping I'm throwing money down the drain."