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

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Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) Claims Get Paid!

November 26, 2010 by Honey Leave a Comment

LTC ClaimsAn article by Trevor Thomas in the October 11, 2010 National Underwriter entitled “Life Plans: LTC Carriers Botch Few Claim Denials” reports on the  LTC insurance claim determination review that was delivered in April and commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

This report shows that long-term care (LTC) insurance claims are getting paid fairly.

An audit team of registered nurses from LifePlans examined about 1,200 claims submitted in 2007 and 2008 to seven LTCi insurers.

The auditors concluded that they would have denied roughly the same proportion of claims as the carriers did, LifePlans researchers say. In fact the auditors concluded that they would have approved 5% fewer cases than the insurance carriers approved.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: LifePlans, LTC Insurance, National Underwriter, Trevor Thomas, US Deptartment of Health and Human Services

Joan Lunden is Spot On

November 22, 2010 by Honey Leave a Comment

This morning’s ABC Good Morning America features Joan Lunden, who speaks eloquently and from the heart about being a caregiver and the need to have a conversation about long-term care planning with your loved ones. She says it better than I can, so watch the clip here:


World News Videos | ABC World News

Joan urges families to conduct such a conversation as soon as possible.  The holiday season, when families congregate, is the perfect natural opportunity for this conversation.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Good Morning America ABC television, Joan Lunden, Long Term Care insurance, Long-Term Care Planning, LTC Insurance

Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)

November 19, 2010 by Honey Leave a Comment

I read an article with a positive spin on LTCi from Reuters  yesterday titled “Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance” by Toddi Gutner, Reuters US Edition, Prism Money, November 18, 2010.

Here are my the comments on it:

Thanks for an article with a well-deserved positive slant on LTCi, even though there is inaccurate info in it. You have listened to advisors who insist on selling short/fat policies. $300/day or $9,000/month LTCi policies are not the correct match for everyone at all. As well, “Most companies have a 10-year pay period.” is absolutely false, especially in TX. These are not the most egregious faults of this article, however. This is simply evidence that Nick Erin is giving bad advice.

Here is an egregious statement: “In some cases, however, “people don’t really need the product,” says Erin. LTC insurance is for income protection and sometimes “Medicaid is a more viable option for people who don’t have an estate,” he says.

I ask:

  1. Have you been in a Medicaid-paid nursing facility lately?
  2. With today’s government finances, are you banking on having Medicaid survive in its current state? My policyholders and I are not. In fact I have sold a lot of LTC insurance to people with little or no estate who insist on doing everything possible to preserve their dignity, options and family structure by purchasing LTC insurance.

Filed Under: Correcting Ignorant Public Figures, Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: Long Term Care insurance, LTC Insurance, Medicaid, Nick Erin, Reuters, Toddi Gutner

Client Shares Her long-Term Care (LTC) Story

October 7, 2009 by Honey Leave a Comment

The following is a true story, and not a paid endorsement.

“Dear Honey,

We are so grateful Neal bought long-term care (LTC)  insurance. He is now suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He needs help eating, dressing, bathing, and walking.

The LTC policy you sold him is paying for his caregiver, Martha to help him while I’m at work. We’ve grown to love and trust her. She is the kindest soul. She and Neal “clicked.”  She’s calm and efficient.

I teach full-time. Because of Neal’s long-term care insurance, our daughter and I have been able to preserve much more of our everyday routine. We are still at Neal’s side much of the time, but having Martha’s additional help is a huge relief, and gives us a sense of normalcy.

I shudder to imagine how different our lives would be if Neal hadn’t purchased LTC insurance. I have a friend whose husband also has ALS. He needs help 24 hours a day at this point. She has seen the comfortable and enjoyable retirement they’d envisioned vanish, due to the costs of care.

When you explain to me that only a small minority of Americans who are age and income appropriate own long-term care insurance, I am pretty incredulous. If our story could influence just one person to buy LTC, it is worth telling.” ~ Susan B, Houston, TX | October 2009

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, LTC, LTC Insurance

Margaret’s Story

September 8, 2009 by Honey Leave a Comment

I wish to offer debts of gratitude to Margaret M for having the courage to share her story with us. Unfortunately, similar situations  happen far more often than they should, mostly because people don’t want to plan. Margaret and I ardently hope that by sharing her story, others will be able to avoid similar circumstances.  The following is a true story, and not a paid endorsement.

“Dear Honey:

About 18 years ago, we received a mail solicitation for long-term care insurance. My husband said he thought it sounded like a good idea. We responded and made an appointment with an agent who would show us coverage.

Three days before our appointment, my husband suffered a mini-stroke and became uninsurable. He continued to have mini-strokes. His condition deteriorated. He was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

My husband was an avid jogger. One day he went jogging and couldn’t find his way home. At that point, he wanted to move to our retirement home in Louisiana, about 4 ½ hours away. We felt he could do some of his favorite activities there, and would be safer because he wouldn’t have to leave our 54 acres. He had a caregiver. We were able to save some money because the cost of care is lower there.

That was in February, 2000. I was working full-time, largely to keep us both covered with health insurance. Every weekend, I’d commute back and forth to Louisiana from Houston.

My husband’s condition continued to deteriorate. He began to hallucinate and became violent, making it impossible for him to remain in our home with a caregiver.   In the Spring of 2006, we moved him into a nursing home back in Houston. By the time he passed away on Thanksgiving Day of 2006, he’d lost 60 pounds and was painfully thin and physically debilitated.

This whole ordeal lasted about ten years. Alzheimers and similar debilitating diseases cause tremendous emotional stress for the patient and caregiver.    We went through pretty much our entire $650,000 retirement savings paying for his care.  The stress of this  financial burden greatly exacerbates the pain and devastation of losing your loved one.

People just can’t imagine something like this ever happening to them. They can’t fathom how expensive the cost of care can be. I am sad and concerned about this. This is why I want my story told. I’d like to prevent other families from experiencing the same type of hardship we had. Our lives would have turned out so differently if we’d known about long-term care insurance just a little bit sooner.   I am so glad I own long term care insurance, so that our children will never have to worry about providing care for me, should it be needed in the future.” ~ Margaret M | Houston, TX

Filed Under: Denial, Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: Alzheimers Disease, LTC, LTC Insurance

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

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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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
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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

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