Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen | Houston, TX

Helping you make informed LTC decisions

 
Request a Free, No-Obligation LTCi Quote
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WHY LTCi
  • LTCi FAQs
  • PROCESS
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • ARTICLES
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • BLOG
  • VLOG

Archives for April 2015

Long-Term Care Insurance Has a Bright Future

April 17, 2015 by Honey Leveen 2 Comments

LTCi ConferenceI recently returned from a national long-term care insurance conference.

I noted the mood at this year’s conference seemed a lot less pessimistic about the long-term care insurance (LTCi) industry than it was last year.

In 2014 we saw continued poor press coverage of LTCi. Media gave mostly inadequate, usually negatively slanted, and sometimes incorrect explanations of LTCi rate hikes, with little advice on constructive ways to ameliorate them. New sales of traditional LTCi decreased. We saw higher premiums, tighter underwriting, and LTCi carrier withdrawals. 2014 was the worst year I can remember for LTCi in my 25 year-long career.

In short, the LTCi market just couldn’t get any worse than it was in 2014.

At the conference I learned that there were more legitimate reasons than my senses alone, to be hopeful about the future of LTCi. While my observations are based on anecdotal experience, it was very reassuring to learn that actuaries agree with what I think most full-time LTCi marketers observe.

Here is why there’s cause for optimism about LTCi:

The problem of who will provide LTC and how to pay for it is not going away. In fact, it’s like a freight train coming at us.

The LTCi market is now expanding, no longer contracting; two new LTCi carriers are in the process of entering the LTCi market.

In the news you will now find plenty of stories advising people that Medicare cannot and will not pay for LTC. You will also find articles about looming budget shortfalls and cutbacks. You will find stories graphically describing the sacrifices families make to provide care for loved ones who don’t own LTCi. You will find stories about our rapidly aging population, lack of caregivers, and impending Alzheimer’s epidemic. After all these years, most journalists still have scant understanding of how LTCi works; LTCi is seldom mentioned in news stories and still doesn’t get the accolades it deserves. But all other indications look good for the future of LTCi.

In his general session presentation at the ILTCI Conference, Roger Loomis, an actuary with ARC (Actuarial Resources Corporation) explained why I believe my suspicions about LTCi’s brighter future are correct. Mr. Loomis’s presentation was about the actuarial outlook on the stability of current LTCi rates. He made several key points.  Higher LTCi prices are obviously more stable. The industry has now had time to learn and benefit from its experience. The LTCi industry has more data to support pricing assumptions, less risky product designs are being offered, skill at managing LTCi is better now, and there are better modeling tools. Mr. Loomis used reporting from seven large insurers who have been in the LTCi market continuously for at least 15 years to back up his statements. He concluded that LTCi presently sold has a relatively low (approximately 12%) probability of a rate increase, due to near rock-bottom lapse and interest rate assumptions, plus other factors.

Anyone wanting the slides from Roger Loomis’s presentation should email me at honey@honeyleveen.com.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Actuarial Resources Corporation, Honey Leveen, Information About LTC, Long Term Care insurance, LTCi, LTCi rate hikes, rate hikes, Roger Loomis, Society of Actuaries, www.honeyleveen.com

Impending Alzheimer’s Disease Epidemic

April 17, 2015 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Alzheimers CrisisWe talked about the immense physical, economic, and psychological toll Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) will take on caregivers.

Also from the newly released 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease facts, we learn AD will cost our nation dearly.

  • In 2015, the direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer’s will total an estimated $226 billion, with half of the costs borne by Medicare.
  • Average per-person Medicare spending for people age 65 or older with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is three times higher than for seniors without dementia. Medicaid payments are 19 times higher.
  • Nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In 2050, it will be one in every three dollars.

Unless something is done, in 2050, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost over $1.1 trillion (in 2015 dollars). This dramatic rise includes a five-fold increase in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and a nearly five-fold increase in out-of pocket spending.

This blog often correlates tragic long-term care (LTC) outcomes with Medicaid’s low nursing home reimbursement. Medicaid pays for most of our nursing home care.

Filed Under: Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Alzheimer's Association, Honey Leveen, Medicaid, Nursing Homes, www.honeyleveen.com

Expect an Alzheimer’s Epidemic

April 2, 2015 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures were just released. When you open this link, I recommend the brief video (also posted below). Additional information is presented quickly and accessibly.

Between 2000 and 2013, the incidence of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases fell, while the incidence of AD increased by 71%!

Prepare for the Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) epidemic. It’s coming.

In 2014, friends and family of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias provided an estimated 17.9 billion hours of unpaid care, a contribution to the nation valued at $217.7 billion. This is approximately 46 percent of the net value of Walmart sales in 2013 and nearly eight times the total revenue of McDonald’s in 2013.

  • Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women and 34 percent are age 65 or older.
  • Forty-one percent of caregivers have a household income of $50,000 or less.
  • Over half of primary caregivers of people with dementia take care of parents.
  • It is estimated that 250,000 children and young adults between ages 8 and 18 provide help to someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.

Alzheimer’s takes a devastating toll on caregivers. Nearly 60 percent of Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers rate the emotional stress of caregiving as high or very high; about 40 percent suffer from depression. Due to the physical and emotional toll of caregiving, Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers had $9.7 billion in additional health care costs of their own in 2014.

If you want to read an article that makes the physical and emotional costs of caregiving real, read “Caring for Alzheimer’s: How Three Families Cope” from this week’s Wall Street Journal.

My advice for middle- and upper middle-class Americans is to prepare now, with long-term care insurance (LTCi), while you can qualify and find reasonable rates.

Filed Under: 3 in 4 Need More, Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: Alzheimer's Association, dementia, Honey Leveen, Long Term Care insurance, long-term care, LTCi, www.honeyleveen.com

Contact Me

Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Hear From My Clients

From My Blog

Tony Bennett is Not in San Francisco

Tony Bennet's story has now gone public. It is uncannily similar to Glen Campbell's. Each was … [Read More...]

Same Old Story

Just a few months ago Al was enjoying his wife, family and traveling. An acute health event occurred … [Read More...]

Testimonials

Open Quotation Mark"Honey - Whenever I need a clarification regarding our “LTC” you are “Johnny on the spot” responding in a very prompt manner, reassuring me, informing me in a concise way, patient with me as I massage the understanding in my own words. Your knowledge is current and expressed with confidence, offered in your conscientious and upbeat personality. Quotation Mark ClosedIt is a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for your expertise." ~ Nancy Damon, Houston, TX
Read more

Thanks for visiting my site! I like hearing from you!

Here’s how to reach me:

Honey Leveen, LUTCF, CLTC, LTCP
“The Queen, by Self-Proclamation, of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)”
404 Royal Bonnet
Ft. Myers, FL 33908

Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

©Honey Leveen, Queen of Long-Term Care Insurance 2011-2015 ~ All Rights Reserved ~ Customization of Genesis Framework by Weborization