A recent column by my friend Chicago Sun-Times columnist Terry Savage – Cost of long term coverage rising, but it’s still good deal (Chicago Sun Times, December 6, 2010) does tremendous good by telling the truth about long-term care insurance. Terry, you are a rock star in my book! Thanks so much.
Long-Term Care Awareness Month Re-cap
We had a wonderful 2010 Long-Term Care Awareness Month (LTCAM) here in Houston.
The goal of LTCAM is to make the public more aware of the need for responsible long-term care (LTC) planning. It is nationally sponsored by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
I want to thank The Forum at Memorial Woods and my contact at The Forum, Keri Shaw, in particular, for organizing and generously underwriting the 2010 LTCAM luncheon there on November 4, 2010. The luncheon was filled to capacity. I was told that people were turned away. Houston City Council Member Melissa Noriega and her assistant, Toya Ramirez, came from City Hall to present Mayor Parker’s proclamation that November 2010 is LTCAM in Houston. I gave a talk at the luncheon called “LTC Current Events.”
On November 16, 2010, a group of 10 of us, representing Houston LTCAM sponsors The Forum at Memorial Woods, Senior Resource Guide, The Houston Area Continuity of Care, and the Houston Association of Health Underwriters, went before Houston City Council to publicly accept the 2010 LTCAM proclamation from Mayor Annise Parker.
It’s been an exciting month!
Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) Claims Get Paid!
An 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.
Joan Lunden is Spot On
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.
Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)
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:
- Have you been in a Medicaid-paid nursing facility lately?
- 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.
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