Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen | Houston, TX
Helping you make informed LTC decisions
No one researches and easily, clearly explains the need for responsible long-term care planning as well as The Motley Fool.
In their January 4, 2015, The Motley Fool explains why Medicare doesn’t/can’t/won’t pay for long-term care. They also advise people to prepare for long-term care costs ahead of time.
Motley Fool, I admire and love you! You do your readers — and the world — good, by explaining things succinctly, with great insight.
“Currently, 1.5 million Americans reside in nursing homes where they are often treated more like patients than residents. Despite the explosive expansion of nursing homes — to a current total of 16,100 — few older people want to live in one.” This is a quote from Jane Brody’s December 15, 2014 New York Times Wellness blog.
This quote makes exactly the same point I have for years, “… few family members would choose, if they had a choice, to place a beloved relative in one. The common belief is that nursing homes are depressing places where old people go to die.”
Nursing homes are inhumane warehouses for our most defenseless, vulnerable citizens. We can do better.
Many of us have known for years of Dr. Bill Thomas and his Green House Project. Green Houses are revenue neutral, far more dignified nursing home alternatives that reflect the good accomplishments we humans are capable of.
Our courageous and dedicated personal friend, Dale Bell, founder of the Media Policy Center, has spent 12 years creating an acclaimed documentary called “Homes on the Range.” This poignant film spotlights what is possible when people who believe there is a better way achieve grass-roots cooperation. It is a heartwarming story of perseverance and hope.
Homes on the Range is the story about the citizens of Sheridan, WY, who decided their elders deserved a whole lot more than nursing home care. Click here to read about how Sheridan’s Greenhouse project was born and see a 20-minute video.
Happy New Year, all!
I gave a larger than average end-of-year donation to Seven Acres, the Jewish nursing home here in Houston. It has a reputation of being top notch, in relative terms. It is as top notch as possible for a Medicaid-accepting, money-losing nursing facility. I have heard from friends with loved ones at Seven Acres that there are too few caregivers. Loved ones often wait a long time for help to come. Seven Acres is the best that any primarily Medicaid-funded nursing home can be. Unfortunately, even the best Medicaid-funded nursing homes have too few caregivers and tend to be warehouses for the elderly and infirm.
Here are just a few of the blogs I’ve done on the unsustainable state of long-term care (LTC) finance in the US: /?s=nursing+home. Because Medicaid pays less than it actually costs to provide care, most facilities run in the red. This causes them to cut corners on the quantity and therefore, the quality of care they can provide.
In its annual solicitation letter, Seven Acres states that in 2013, it “provided over $8 million in charitable care to over 85% of its resident population who rely solely on inadequate Medicaid funding.”
I feel bad knowing that my donation is a drop in the bucket and will not help with Seven Acres’ over all financial problems.
Increased demand for long-term care (LTC) and decreased Medicaid reimbursements will cause Seven Acres to continue to run in the red, in what I foresee as a continued downward spiral.
My donation will have no effect on potential changes and reforms that will be necessary to preserve Medicaid-paid LTC for our most vulnerable citizens. It will also have no effect on making political changes that are necessary to gain control over our country’s out-of-control Medicaid expenses.
The moral: take charge of your own future dignity and choices with a reasonably priced LTC insurance policy.
I hope you’ll enjoy taking the quiz below. I used it with great success at a talk I gave yesterday. I awarded a lottery scratch-off ticket to each person who gave a correct answer (I gave them printed copies of the article and told them where to find the answers). My students were quite engaged and seemed to enjoy it.
The questions below come from an October 28, 2014 US News and World Report article called, You’ll Likely Need Long-Term Care, But How Will You Pay for It? This article is great because it’s accurate, brief, straightforward, and well-researched. The article links its statements to the studies documenting them.
1) What percentage of caregiving is done by unpaid family members and friends, including spouses, children and relatives?
2) What percentage of unpaid caregivers had to make financial sacrifices?
3) What is the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the US?
4) Nationwide, what percentage of LTC costs does Medicaid pay?
5) What percentage of Americans own LTC insurance?
6) What percentage of Americans are concerned about LTC costs?
7) What is the correct age to consider buying LTC insurance?
8) What is the annual cost of nursing home care?
1) 90%. I’ve done prior blogs on this.
2) 37%. I’ve done prior blogs on this.
3) Medical expenses which include LTC.
4) Two-thirds. See my blogs on Medicaid.
5) 15%. This is on the high side, other sources say closer to 11%. Bottom line: not enough of us!
6) 74% say they’d forego a cup of Starbucks a day to pay their LTC premiums. But they aren’t doing so!
7) In your 40’s. I’ve done prior blogs on why this is so.
8) $50,000/year. This is an average and is not for the accommodations you’d desire. Check out Genworth’s annual cost of care survey to find all care costs in your locale.
The majority of us deny the fact that the odds we will need long-term care (LTC) are quite high (70% at age 65, according to www.longtermcare.gov). More importantly, we deny the potentially catastrophic consequences caused by needing LTC without being prepared.
Here are some denial-busting tools for the ones you care about, but who refuse to have a conversation about responsible, reasonable LTC planning now, while they are able to qualify for LTC insurance and find good rates.
Give your loved one this special, eight question LTC IQ Quiz.
Watch this brief video of Meryl Comer, graphically describing the havoc being unprepared for LTC caused:
www./resources will link you to other highly informative sites like My Life. My Family, The Motley Fool, and Own Your Future Texas.
Knowledge is power. Failure to plan is planning to fail.
"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. 
It is a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for your expertise." ~ Nancy Damon, Houston, TX
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