The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program takes up where Medicare and the federal health plans leave off, but long-term care insurance must be bought in advance, and many financial planners say that the time to do so is when one is young and healthy and can get the lowest premiums. Long-term care insurance as an employment perk is not high on companies' lists right now, and the open enrollment period for the federal program ends very soon. Legislation is pending that would let retired federal and postal workers pay health premiums with pretax dollars, reducing most retirees' taxable income.