Archives for April 2014

“Police Say Nursing Home Resident Killed 2 With Arm of Wheelchair”

April 26, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

The breaking news that immediately seized my eye on the front page of the April 23, 2014 Houston Chronicle was, “Police say nursing home resident killed 2 with arm of wheelchair.”

The murders took place at Lexington Place nursing facility.

This is an article I wrote about Lexington Place. I’ve been there a few times and have toured it. The article was published in an insurance trade magazine in August, 2011.

What’s interesting is that hardly anyone ever comments on my blogs or online articles. This had been the case with all the articles I wrote for this magazine, except for this one, which described a few aspects of life inside Lexington Place. This particular article motivated many peers from all over the country to comment, all in positive ways. They all thanked me for telling the story straight.

According to my source, almost all of Lexington Place’s residents were/are Medicaid recipients. That means that Lexington Place was/is in a particularly precarious situation. Medicaid reimburses at rates that are beneath what it actually costs to provide care for nursing home patients.

If you search this website for “nursing homes”, you’ll find much factual information on why nursing homes are suffering. Essentially, most Medicaid-funded nursing facilities are the red and continue to suffer funding cuts.

Here, I opine: there is something about money being in short supply that causes businesses to panic. Then fear sets in. Then dysfunctional management occurs. This is what I believe occurred at Lexington Place.

I believe Lexington Place admitted people it probably shouldn’t have, in hopes of keeping its census high. If funding gets cut, a volume approach is often the remedy, whether this makes sense in the big picture, or not.

I believe, based on information I was given by a trustworthy former employee there, that Lexington Place is also woefully understaffed. That is what I was told, that’s what I reported in my August, 2011 story.

My question remains: if people complained about the murderer’s violent tendencies, why was his behavior not dealt with in a more reasonable manner?

The murderer bludgeoned his victims with the arm of a wheelchair. I presume the deaths were not sudden, but rather, drawn out in a process involving screaming, for quite a while. Where were the caregivers?

I think the answer to the above question must be screaming similar to that of the murder victims is a normal occurrence at Lexington Place.

If I’m Not Here, Call Claim Jockey

April 15, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

While at the recent Society of Actuaries Long-Term Care Conference, I met with Wendy Rinehart, the owner and founder of www.ClaimJockey.com. Claim Jockey performs a much needed service.

I often forget how spoiled my clients are. I’ve been answering their calls, offering guidance, and explaining how their LTCi policies work for 23 years now. This is highly unusual. I often have clients surprised when I pick up the phone and they find me still alive, well, accountable, and happy to take whatever time is necessary to counsel them about how to collect from their LTCi. I also often recommend germane services based on the circumstances they describe. To the consternation of some clients, I also offer advice and opinions, whether or not I’m asked!

After doing what I do: selling and servicing long-term care insurance (LTCi) for many years, Wendy became aware of a crying need not being tended to. That’s why she founded www.ClaimJockey.com.

What happens when there is no agent like me around? This is the case for most LTCi policyholders. I believe the majority of agents who sell LTCi do not achieve success and are therefore not available and accountable to their clients after the sale. When policyholders call the name and number on the business card stapled to their policy, they often don’t find their agent.

LTCi policyholders often try to call their agent when they need help urgently. This can be a very scary time. It’s sad that at the point when many are more vulnerable than they’ve ever been, there is no one trustworthy to talk with.

This is where Wendy and www.ClaimJockey.com step in. Claim Jockey can interpret and explain the caller’s LTCi policy. They can assess whether a claim is warranted. And they can assist with the claim.

I salute Wendy for recognizing these needs and creating www.ClaimJockey.com. She and her staff are truly helping with a great need.

Long-Term Care Insurance is Good for America!

April 9, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

I want to share part of a powerful address that Tom McInerney delivered at the recent Society of Actuaries Long-Term Care Conference. His talk had great impact on me.

Mr. McInerney is the CEO of Genworth Financial, a leader in the long-term care insurance (LTCi) marketplace. He stated the federal government faces at least $40-70 trillion in entitlement liabilities (Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid). A 2009 GAO Report supports a $45 trillion number. A more recent Heritage Foundation report estimates $45 trillion for Social Security and Medicare alone. All three of these programs are “Pay-As-You-Go”, which means they need to be paid for through current payroll or income taxes.

Our current federal tax revenues are $2.7T per year (see CBO Report FY 2013 estimate). If you add $40 – 70 trillion of entitlement to our existing $17 trillion deficit, even a doubling of taxes, which would further slow our economy, wouldn’t put much of a dent on the public sector’s true liabilities of $60 – 80 trillion! To add to this dilemma, we currently have a ratio of fewer than three workers per retiree supporting Social Security. According to the Social Security Administration, this ratio gets worse every day.

Let me add that our legislators know that Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid need reform urgently. But for their own reasons, neither party will broach this subject. I have blogged about this here and here. With each passing day, the entitlement crisis grows worse, and Mr. McInerney states that counseling that we should rely exclusively on a taxpayer-funded solution to pay for long-term care in the US is irresponsible. I don’t think it’s irresponsible. I think it is off-the-deep end unrealistic and irrational to believe publicly paid long-term care is possible! Yet such irrational, “feel good” solutions seem to prevail.

Here’s a blog that gives an example of the prevalence of such irrational points of view. It’s called “Reaming Diane Rehm“. During her show on long-term care, Diane Rehm paid most of her attention to a supporter of government paid long-term care. She did not have a single representative of the insurance industry on this show, yet plenty of time was spent smashing and bashing LTCi. I pointed out some of the many false and irrational statements made on this show in a professionally written letter I sent to Diane Rehm by surface mail and email; I never even got an acknowledgement from her or her staff.

Meanwhile, Americans haven’t saved enough to cover their long-term care costs. The private long-term care insurance market can’t cover everybody, but it can cover some of us. The more LTCi policies issued, the less pressure on Medicaid budgets and other entitlement spending in the future.

It is Proven That Not Planning for Long-Term Care Ahead of Time Can Cause Harm to Those You Love

April 1, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the hazards of not planning responsibly for your long-term care (LTC).

Unpaid care, normally provided by family and friends, is not calculated into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but if was, it would represent a significant percentage of the GDP.

According to www.longlivetexans.com/index.php/site/facts-figures, TX ranks number two nationally in the amount of uncompensated care provided by caregivers. We also have a very high incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease.

It’s unpaid care that can kill. Much, if not most care in the US is provided by family and friends on an unpaid basis and often at huge physical, emotional, and financial sacrifice to the amateur caregivers.

A new study by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the United Hospital Fund reports on just how much care, and what type of care employed family members (unpaid caregivers) provide. Here’s the link to the study. The findings are alarming. Despite workplace obligations, nearly half of all employed family caregivers perform many of the tasks we normally associated with licensed health care professionals, including a range of medical/nursing tasks, such as medication management, wound care, using meters and monitors, and more.

This report also describes the characteristics and stress levels of working versus unemployed family caregiver. No surprise: employed caregivers suffer more stress.

People who own long-term care insurance and need long-term care create less stressful, more dignified, considerate outcomes for themselves and those they love. They have more long-term care options to choose from. Watch some of the videos here to learn why.

I will never understand why well educated people, with successful careers and decent incomes, who can afford reasonably priced long-term care insurance, often go out of their way to avoid having even a preliminary conversation about responsible long-term care planning with me.

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Archives for April 2014

“Police Say Nursing Home Resident Killed 2 With Arm of Wheelchair”

If I’m Not Here, Call Claim Jockey

It is Proven That Not Planning for Long-Term Care Ahead of Time Can Cause Harm to Those You Love

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Podcast Illuminates LTC Need

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