Long Term Care Advisors

06/07/2022

https://conta.cc/3NsOd9W

LTC News June 2022 6/2/2022, “BREAKING NEWS: CMS updates Medicaid eligibility standards,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living Quote: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced u

06/07/2022

With 41% leap in nursing home costs, ‘doing nothing’ not an option: AHCA,” by Kimberly Marselas, McKnight’s LTC News

After two years in which nursing homes have been pilloried in the media and come under increased regulatory scrutiny, the nation’s top provider organization hopes two days of in-person meetings with federal lawmakers will usher in a course correction.

07/06/2021

6/28/2021, “A quarter of 65-year-old Americans will have ‘severe need’ for long-term care,” by Alessandra Malito, MarketWatch
Quote: “Only one-fifth of 65-year-old Americans won’t need long-term care services. Everyone else can expect to require some level of it — and about a quarter of these retirees will have “severe needs” for this assistance, a recent study found.”

Here's why you may want to explore long-term care services when planning your retirement

06/03/2021

6/3/2021, “Semiprivate Nursing Home Room Cost Rises 9.2%: Mutual of Omaha,”

The insurer has posted LTCG survey data showing that assisted living facility rent fell.

01/13/2021

Residents and caregivers at senior living facilities write about life during the pandemic — and trying to stay safe while facing the challenges of long-term isolation.

08/19/2020

Today’s retirement can last twenty or thirty years. That means the chance of needing some help between your last day of work and your last breath is significant. And health care—especially when it’s ‘round the clock—doesn’t come

"First, plan early and often. If you’re young, start considering the cost of care in your state now and factor it into your retirement savings."

03/13/2020

Here is a very good report on the future of Long Term Care. Take a few minutes and read about this crisis.

The long-term care crisis faced by the United States is significant and rapidly worsening. This paper examines the cost of long-term care.

01/22/2020

Long-Term Care Insurance Paid Claims Rise by 35 Percent Reports Association

A new study published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance finds that benefits paid by insurers increased 35 percent in 2019 compared to five years earlier. Some $11 billion in long-term care insurance benefits were paid.

"In 2019 the long-term care insurance companies paid out $11 billion in claim benefits to some 310,000 individuals," reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI's director. "That represents a 35.11 percent increase over the $8.14 billion paid out five years earlier in 2015."

"The number of individuals who received benefit payments has grown as policyholders age," Slome cites. "Long-term care insurance is something you buy generally in your 50s and 60s fully expecting that if you live a long life, you'll need care one day. Insurers understand and expect this as well."

The majority of long-term care insurance claim benefits are paid to individuals who purchased traditional long-term care insurance policies. "While the majority of policies purchased today are life and annuity policies that offer the option for a long-term care payout, there are relatively few claims apparently for LTC-related benefits," Slome points out. "Hopefully one day as that segment of the industry grows such information will be available to demonstrate to consumers the value of this protection."

10/10/2019

Long-term care can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it’s one of the least planned for expenses of retirement. We get it. Long-term care can be confusing and complicated.

We all want to think that we’ll be healthy forever, but this is obviously not a reality.

In fact, 70 percent of those ages 65 and older will need long-term care at some point. So, how do you plan for this likely expense? Call us to discuss your options!

08/15/2019

An estimated 70% of people over age 65 will need some kind of long-term care during their lifetime.

Not all of these people will need to enter a nursing home. For many, the preferred care would be received at home. It is the inability to do the activities of daily living because of a physical or cognitive reason that trigger the need for this care.

There are six activities that are considered when making this evaluation. They are transferring, continence, toileting, bathing, dressing and eating. When someone cannot do two of these by themselves, it often signals the need for aid. These are what trigger LTC policies.

When Medicare was created in 1965, it was designed to help people over age 65 get better. It was not designed for illnesses such as Alzheimer's and other diagnosis that last long term. Medicare does not pay for long-term care. It might provide up to 20 days coverage for short-term recovery if you have been admitted to a hospital for three or more days and up to an additional 80 days might be available by paying a daily co-pay. After day 100, there is no long-term care coverage from Medicare. While this might be very valuable for rehab from a stroke or hip fracture, it does not solve the problem if you need care for the rest of your life.

The only other government program for long term care is Medicaid. You must spend down most of your assets to qualify for help from this program. Even then, Medicaid covers a nursing home only, in a specially licensed facility and usually in a semi-private room with another resident. If you prefer to treat at home in private, Medicaid will not be the answer to your situation.

This means that if you have assets that you want to protect, you better have a plan. The Pension Protection Act passed in 2006 might offer some help. In some cases, it allows you to withdraw cash value from existing life insurance or annuity to purchase LTC coverage. Sometimes you can completely exchange annuity for a LTC policy on a tax-free basis. On some policies, you can accelerate the death benefit tax free to pay for long-term care.

Traditional LTC insurance where you make monthly payments is not used as much as it was years ago. Many insurance companies have left the industry and premiums have often increased at an alarming rate. These types of policies were often use it or lose it. Most people hope to never need to use a nursing home. Sometimes after paying for years, people find out they can no longer afford the coverage. This is a difficult decision. Newer types of coverage can eliminate some of these issues.

Since there is a five-year look back period, you must plan ahead. The odds of needing care increases every year as we age. While this subject is important to every senior, it may be even more important to women. When you visit a nursing home, about 85% of the population is women. This is because women often marry men several years older than themselves. Also women often outlive men of the same age by four to six years. When a husband needs help, the wife is available. Often when the women need help, she is a widow.

Be proactive and have a plan to deal with this important possibility.

06/26/2019

Long Term Care costs are rising fast. See below for details. Do you have Long Term Care Insurance? If not, consider how a long term health care event could impact your retirement savings.

For many older Americans, affording long-term care can be financially ruinous, researchers say

05/10/2019

Are you on the hook...

You better find out what your state's laws are, but regardless, start looking into LTC plans.