For most Americans, mandatory insurance may be the only practical solution to the often-devastating cost of nursing home care, according to Joel Dobris, professor at the UC Davis School of Law.The high cost of nursing home care often results in many older Americans having to create a financial hardship for their spouses, or depleting the assets they acquired over a lifetime of work, says Dobris, an expert in trusts and estate law. Medicaid provides benefits for those who meet prescribed levels of poverty, but more than half of the people in nursing homes on Medicaid started out paying their own bills before reducing their resources sufficiently to qualify for the benefits. According to Dobris, this situation can be avoided through legitimate means, such as transferring assets to a spouse or offspring, or transforming cash into assets exempt from eligibility standards. However, legitimate options, besides being generally available only to people who can afford a lawyer, are vulnerable because the law in this area is complex and subject to change, Dobris says. "Compulsory insurance is a rational response to the problem of extended life expectancies, the increased need for care and the failure of most people to voluntarily purchase insurance as individuals."