Honey Leveen, Author at Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1

August 17, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Beware of newspaper or online columns by “consumer advocates” who are not legitimate journalists.

The following column hit Internet searches set for “long-term care insurance” last week: “Clark Howard: Do your homework before buying long-term care”. What’s not to like about Mr. Howard’s down-home, sincere looking headshot? I’m sure Mr. Howard is a nice guy, but he is not qualified to write about long-term care insurance. Yet, he does.

I’ve already busted Scott Burns, another financial advisor with a newspaper column, who doesn’t need to research his columns in depth before having them published. This is because Mr. Burns, like Mr. Howard, is a financial advisor, not a journalist.

Mr. Howard does not derive much, if any, of his income from his pseudo-journalism. I clicked through to his website. His livelihood appears to come from being some sort of financial advisor. Yet his column gets published online and possibly in the hard-copy Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I’m sure many readers accept what he says without questioning because it looks and seems credible.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. My colleagues and I are exhausted from having to combat the amount of misinformation about long-term care insurance (LTCi) that manages to get published. Mainstream media publishes a lot more misinformation than it does properly researched, accurate information on LTCi.

It is obvious to me and my colleauges that Mr. Howard is speaking out of his a** on the subject of LTCi. A lot of what he’s written does not make sense or is not possible. I guess Mr. Howard had a deadline to meet and was in a time crunch. Clearly, minimal research has been done.

Beware of Mr. Howard, Mr. Burns, and others like him. They are not a journalists. Lack of adequate editorial oversight enables them to give un-researched, false information and have it published, appearing as fact.

In my sequel to this blog, “Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part II”, I will give the falsehoods in Mr. Howard’s piece and correct them.

New, Easy-To-Use Tools Show Why Owning Long-Term Care Insurance Makes So Much Sense

July 25, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

We now have some fabulous, simple-to-use, easy-to-understand tools that show you arithmetically why owning long-term care insurance makes so much sense.

You can find each of the tools described below by clicking on this link.

Cost of Care Generator: Check out the costs of care for the major cities in your state.

Self Insuring (Savings Chart): See the financial ramifications of trying to save to pay for long-term care.

Cost of Waiting: Hesitation can be costly. If you’re thinking about waiting before you buy, see how this strategy may effect you.

Co-Insuring: You can keep your long-term care premiums low if you co-insure. This charts helps you determine your co-insurance tolerance.

Inflation: Inflation will cause the cost of care services to increase over time. See how a Benefit Increase Rider helps your policy keep up with inflation.

Elimination Period: The Elimination Period is your policy’s deductible and is measured in days. Translate your deductible back into dollars to see the real costs to you.

Lump Sum Chart: Find out how much money you need to put aside today to pay for a future long-term care stay.

Recoup Premiums Chart: Find out how many days on claim it will take you to recoup all of your premiums paid.

An Option for Single Women Boomers

June 18, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Last Wednesday morning I awoke to an engaging story on NPR about aging Baby Boomer women with limited finances, living together to create a sense of family, save money, and have fun.

A growing number of pioneering women are starting group homes with their single peers. Some are being advertised on Craigslist as Golden Girl Houses. According to Bonnie Moore, a 60-something divorcee who lives in a well-kept, five-bedroom house in Bowie, Md., a cozy suburb of Washington, D.C., it’s “a little bit like family, a little bit like roommates, a little bit like a sorority house.”

I say more power to them! They can pool their resources, strengths & weaknesses and create a responsive new family for themselves. This is a great solution up to the point any of the “Golden Girls” needs long-term care. At that point, this model could prove stressful and problematic, as increased physical and emotional demands are made upon the housemates.

The women pictured in this story appear to be in their 50’s and 60’s, and in good enough health to qualify for long-term care insurance (LTCi). I should think that their obvious savings on rent and other household expenses would easily enable them to afford LTCi premiums, which can be reasonable.

LTCi has been, still is, and will always be the most dignified, sane option for middle class people needing long-term care.

Caregiver Daughter is Exhausted, Angry

June 10, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Here’s the June 3, 2013 Dear Abby column. I hear variations of this same story almost every day. It’s a story of resentment, anger, and wasted dreams.

The family member needing care most likely chose to avoid having a conversation about responsible – and reasonable – long-term care planning when they were able to.

“DEAR ABBY: I took care of my grandmother until her death a few years ago, and now my mother is very sick. I feel angry because I’m only 23, and it seems all I have ever done is take care of sick people. I sit at the hospital sometimes just fuming.

Mom was a smoker and now she has cancer. I keep thinking if she hadn’t smoked, she wouldn’t be in this fix, and neither would I. I always visit her and try to do everything she asks of me, and yet I think I’m starting to hate her. I dread going to the hospital, sitting there and waiting for test results, etc. What kind of daughter has feelings like this? — WORST DAUGHTER ON EARTH

DEAR DAUGHTER: Please stop beating yourself up. Your feelings are normal. You have a right to be angry that your mother is sick. At 23, you have had an unusual amount of responsibility thrust upon you for someone your age. That her disease has taken over your life is also a reason to be angry.

However, please stop blaming her for her illness. Right now, you need each other. And nonsmokers get cancer, too. The American Cancer Society has support groups where family members can safely share their feelings. Please check them out.”

Very Useful New Book by Phyllis Shelton

May 28, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

My good friend Phyllis Shelton has written a new book “Protecting your Family with Long-Term Care Insurance.”

Senior Market Advisor Magazine deemed Phyllis to be among the top ten professionals in the long-term care insurance industry nationally. She has been featured and quoted extensively by the mainstream media and is a nationally recognized speaker. I’ve known Phyllis for years consider her reputation beyond reproach. She uses folksy charm and down-home TN humor to convey technical information in an easy-to-understand, thorough manner.

To learn more about Phyllis, visit www.ltcconsultants.com

If you aim to be a superbly well-informed LTCi buyer, or you are a financial advisor who wants your thirst for detailed insight into LTCi products quenched in an entertaining manner, you will surely enjoy Phyllis’s latest book. Here’s the review I gave this book on Amazon.com:

“Phyllis Shelton is regarded as one of the most credible, trustworthy experts in the field of long-term care insurance (LTCi) today. This book lives up to this reputation. Ms. Shelton explains technical aspects of LTCi in an easy-to-understand fashion. The reader will learn how to understand LTCi comprehensively, on a deeper level than is possible from typical LTCi sales materials or media coverage. The info she gives is accurate and timely. This book is “must” reading for any consumer who wishes to make an informed, confident, empowered decision about LTCi. The book is enjoyable. Much of Ms. Shelton’s down to earth, TN humor is evident, and she uses many relevant, first-hand examples.”

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1

New, Easy-To-Use Tools Show Why Owning Long-Term Care Insurance Makes So Much Sense

An Option for Single Women Boomers

Caregiver Daughter is Exhausted, Angry

Very Useful New Book by Phyllis Shelton

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