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Archives for October 2011

Reality Setting in: Nursing Homes Start to Shutter

October 31, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

In an article  titled, “Long-term care patients face move as hospital ends service,”Manuel Coppola of the Nogales International (268 W. View Point Dr. Nogales, AZ 85621) states that “Over the next three months, 26 long-term-care patients at Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital (HCH) will have to find somewhere else to go after a decision was made this week to discontinue the residential service effective Feb. 3, 2012.”

The article tragically reports that $500 million in statewide cuts to Arizona Medicaid make reopening the facility highly unlikely.

According to Dina Sanchez, HCH assistant administrator, “For several years, Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital was already subsidizing residential care at this long-term care facility to the tune of about $1 million per year.”

The article continues, “With $1.6 million in AHCCCS (Arizona Medicaid) cuts to Holy Cross compounding the fiscal stress, something had to give.”

I believe this is the tip of the iceberg and that scenarios like this are going to begin playing out across the country. If you don’t already own long-term care insurance, it’s time to face up to the fact that the government won’t be able to pay for your long-term care.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Honey Leveen, Long Term Care insurance, LTC Insurance, Mauel Coppola, Medicaid, Nogales International, Nursing Homes

Best Age to Buy long-term care (LTC) Insurance

October 26, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

Fox News ran a story by Robert DiGiacomo entitled “Best Age to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?” on October 21, 2011.

Whenever I am asked about the best age to buy long-term care insurance (LTCi), I always answer that the sooner you buy, the better off you’ll be. If you are placed with the appropriate carrier and you live your predicted life expectancy, you’ll always save money by buying LTCi sooner, rather than later. The author of this article and the experts he quoted agree.

Mr. DiGiacomo’s article gives the mathematical explanation of why this is true.

The story also correctly points out that the older you get, the more difficult it may be to qualify for LTCi.

But Mr. DiGiacomo left out another crucial reason to buy LTCi as soon as you can. Every few years, LTCi carriers retire their current plan and replace it with their next generation plan. Generally, this newer plan is more or less the same as the prior plan; it just costs more for comparable benefits. There is nothing about the prior, older plan that is obsolete or is less desirable than the new plan in any way.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Fox News, Honey Leveen, Long Term Care insurance, LTC Insurance, Robert DiGiacomo

CLASS Act LTC Dead

October 17, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

On October 14, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced her recommendation to halt implementation of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act.

Those of us who specialize in long-term care insurance (LTCi), including the Society of Actuaries and the head actuary of the US Dept of HHS, recognized from the outset that CLASS Act long-term care (LTC) was unsustainable as proposed. It was to be a voluntary program that was going to accept everyone in the workplace who applied, regardless of their insurability. This would have resulted in the most classic example of adverse selection ever. Had CLASS Act LTCi been enacted, there was budget to publicize the need for responsible planning. For healthy applicants who shopped, CLASS Act LTC would obviously not have been competitive with existing LTCi plans in either price or benefits. These two things would have been, in the short term, financially beneficial to advisors. However, in the long run, CLASS would have turned into one more giant government money-hemorrhaging entitlement program.

RIP, CLASS Act!

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: CLASS Act LTC, Information About LTC, Kathleen Sebelius, Long Term Care insurance, long-term care, US Dept of Health and Human Services

More Realize they Need Pricey Long-Term Care

October 10, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

NPR, in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, has recently released a new poll of Americans over 50, which was reported by NPR in a wonderful story on September 29, 2011, called “More Realize They Face Pricey Long-Term Care” .  I use the word wonderful for three reasons.

First, it features my good friend and frequent Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) conference roommate, Sally Leimbach.

Secondly, this is the first time I have heard a radio story solely on LTCi. Usually LTCi is mentioned as an aside.  The media finally seem to be giving LTCi the credibility it is entitled to!

Thirdly, the story gets it all right. It includes an interview of a consumer purchasing LTCi: hallelujah, LTCi is finally treated like the “prime-time” solution it deserves to be. It also accurately portrays people’s denial and inability to face reality. The story reports that only 7% of those polled thought that Medicaid pays for long-term care (LTC) in the US. In reality, over 50% of all LTC in this country is paid for by Medicaid.

As the title portends, more people than ever (about 2/3 of us, according to the poll) now admit they may have trouble paying for long-term care (LTC). As I have stated in the past, the public seems to enjoy dwelling in a state of denial and/or disconnect. I am sad that people don’t take responsibility and act on such information. My colleagues and I often say, in regard to responsible LTC planning, that failing to plan is more like planning to fail.

Filed Under: Denial, Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Harvard School of Public Health, Long Term Care insurance, LTC Insurance, Medicaid, NPR National Public Radio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

One More Study Confirms Public Unprepared

October 3, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

NPR aired a story this week called “Boomers’ Delusion About Health in Retirement”. It reports on a study they did in conjuction with  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.  The article reports that some experts worry that when it comes to their health, boomers are still woefully unprepared — or worse, in denial.

“The mismatch between how people think the next 10 to 15 years is going to go and what current retirees experience is something that’s very consistent,” says Jeff Goldsmith. “There is no question that one distinguishing feature of our generation is this extraordinary, almost genetic optimism. And the poll results look to me like a lot of that optimism was drawn from a deep well of self-delusion.”

Here’s an example of the public’s denial, “only 1 percent of those not yet retired said they expect the amount of exercise they get to decrease in retirement, while 34 percent of retirees said they actually are getting less exercise.”

Here’s another: “only 13 percent of people over age 50 but not yet retired said they expect their health to be worse in retirement than it is currently. Yet 39 percent of retirees said their health is worse than it was in the five years before they retired.”

The report goes on to indicate the public is still unclear about who pays for long-term care. In the poll, a majority of those both retired and not-yet-retired thought Medicare, private savings and private insurance would be the primary payers if they needed nursing home stays longer than 100 days. In fact, the primary payer for nursing home care across the nation is the joint federal-state Medicaid program. Yet that was identified as the most likely payer for their own long-term nursing care by only 7 percent of retirees and 10 percent of not-yet-retired boomers.

There’s already evidence that people are starting into this retirement era with burdens.  A third of the generation is obese, and another third is overweight. And even though people talk a good game in terms of exercise, it’s not clear the numbers actually support it.

The only “silver lining” the linked article gives is that when it comes to long-term care, the boomers are considerably more aware of the possibility of the crushing cost than previous generations have been. More than two-thirds recognize the threat of long-term care expenses to their financial futures.

The public is still choosing not to act to ensure their dignity, options and choices by doing responsible long-term care planning. I am very scared for them.

Dear Public,

Take heed. Make it safer for yourself and less stressful for those you love. Be empowered by being responsible. Stop making excuses to avoid planning for the future.

Sincerely,

Honey

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Harvard School of Public Health, Jeff Goldsmith, long-term care, LTCi, NPR National Public Radio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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Honey Leveen, LUTCF, CLTC, LTCP
“The Queen, by Self-Proclamation, of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)”
404 Royal Bonnet
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Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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