Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

A recent study conducted by Morning Consult and commissioned by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) finds that people often think about their retirement, but not about whether they'll need long-term care (LTC).

The study states 76 percent of respondents said they thought a lot or some about their living situation in retirement, but only 44 percent thought they would need long-term care. Yet according to reputable sources like the federal government, approximately 70% of us over age 65 will need long-term care!

This avoidance of the conversation and denial of the need for LTC is one thing that just hasn't changed in my 25-plus year career.

Bright, well-educated, middle-class to affluent professionals, with lots to lose financially and emotionally, still do not want to believe they might need LTC one day. They avoid conversing about it.

My industry blames itself for not having "sexy enough" products to attract more buyers. We blame the federal government for making it fairly easy for middle-class people to artificially impoverish and abuse the system by using Medicaid to pay for nursing home care. We blame bad press.

The truth is, today's long-term care insurance (LTCi) policies are plenty "sexy." Their features and triggers are more lenient than ever. Rates on today's policies will remain stable.

I've seen well in excess of 300 clients collect from LTCi I've sold them (I believe this is just "the tip of the iceberg"). I've seen the magic of LTCi ownership and how transformative LTCi has been for them and their families. Clients and their kids frequently thank me for selling them their LTCi.

Denial is a basic human instinct. It is often useful. But where LTC planning is concerned, I've seen case after case where denial has caused undue harm.