Elephant in the Room Archives - Page 5 of 18 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Retirees Don’t Want to Spend Their Retirement Savings On Care

May 10, 2018 by Honey Leveen 1 Comment

There’s yet another piece of research out telling us that retirees are unwilling to pay for long term care (LTC), even when they have more than enough in retirement savings. They are reluctant to “spend down” their accumulated wealth, “even when assets are plentiful or when there is guaranteed income available to ensure that retirees will not run out of money.”

Lori Lucas, president and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), points to all the financial uncertainty of retirement. These pensioners may be “afraid of facing catastrophic health care costs if they need to stay in a long-term care facility for a prolonged period.”

Ironically, the monthly cost of a LTC insurance (LTCi) premium would go a long way to relieve that uncertainty.

You can read the detailed study here, “Asset Decumulation or Asset Preservation? What Guides Retirement Spending?”

They Won’t Dip In to Their Retirement Savings

I spoke with a home care agency owner who sees this all the time. He said that 75% of his clients who own long-term care insurance (LTCi) would not be getting much-needed care without their LTCi benefits. Even though they lived in million dollar homes with abundant financial resources, they’d rather not spend the money. Despite their ability to pay, they would rather do without the care were it not for their LTCi benefits. They just don’t want to “spend down” their retirement savings.

If you scroll through the comments on my Testimonials page, you’ll see many adult children confirming that their highly affluent parent would not have consented to needed care if they didn’t own LTC insurance.

Here’s another blog I did about highly affluent people who just don’t like to spend money.

LTC insurance helps people access high quality care, it’s that simple! Click here to receive your free customized quote.

LTC Planning: What’s Scaring the Financial Advisors?

May 5, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Planning for the future requires some expert advice. Financial advisors assist their clients in achieving their goals for retirement, travel and even providing for their children. What about planning for the inevitable costs of medical treatment and long term care?

Jamie Hopkins shares my passion of planning for security in our retirement years. He talks about some important gaps in the retirement planning industry in this article (Forbes, April 2018). He shines a light on a downside of specialization I frequently see. “While 94% of advisors reported that their clients are waiting too long to plan for long-term care, only 26% of these advisors stated that they discussed long-term care planning with their clients.”

Financial Advisors Avoid the Hard Conversation

And why are these advisors avoiding this important conversation? Mostly because it is simply outside of their specialty.

“…many advisors reported that they don’t like bringing up the topic because they believe their clients see it as depressing, overly complicated, and time consuming.”

Apparently, these financial advisors are uncomfortable with the difficult conversations required to create a holistic retirement plan for their clients.

I am in complete agreement with Jamie Hopkins! He also presents some practical and creative solutions for your consideration. Yes. A thousand times: YES!

Are you curious about the cost of your own long term care solution? Click here to receive your own free, personalized quote.

Do You Really Want to Depend on Medicaid for Your Long Term Care?

January 15, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

What does government-paid long-term care actually provide? And just how effective is that care?

The New York Times reports that “Since 2013, nearly 6,500 nursing homes — four of every 10 — have been cited at least once for a serious violation, federal records show. Medicaid has fined two-thirds of those homes. Common citations include failing to protect residents from avoidable accidents, neglect, mistreatment and bedsores.”

Many health care advocates support these penalties as effective plans to monitor and maintain acceptable levels of care. Objections from the nursing home industry, however, have resulted in a significant reduction in these fines. The industry’s main trade group, The American Health Care Association, complained that the federal inspectors focused excessively on catching wrongdoing rather than helping nursing homes improve.

As a result, the federal government is now scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. The new guidelines discourage regulators from levying fines in some situations, even when they have resulted in a resident’s death.

Burning the Medicaid Candle

We seem to be burning the Medicare – Medicaid Candle from both ends. Medicare and Medicaid fund most of U.S. nursing home care. We know they are not an endless well of money. On the patient side, Medicaid doesn’t pay enough per patient day for nursing homes to provide good care. Medicaid-funded nursing homes cannot hire enough caregivers, because they cannot pay them enough.

As my colleague Stephen Moses aptly describes, “Beatings will continue until morale improves!”

Many people expect Medicaid-funded nursing home facilities to provide them with long-term care. Medicaid eligibility requires asset spend down. In addition, quality of care is dependent on our financial resources. People who own long term care insurance (LTCi) have necessary funds and are far more likely to be able to avoid Medicaid, stay at home, or access quality assisted living if they need long term care.

Click here to receive your personal quote for Long Term Care Insurance coverage.

Astounding Knowledge Gap!

December 9, 2017 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, with a new diagnosis made every 66 seconds. This comes from a poll released by Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and the Bipartisan Policy Center. It’s got a lot of surprising information about the public’s lack of awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. When preparing for Alzheimer’s, we find ourselves using a lot of inaccurate information.

The Knowledge Gap is Huge!

According to the poll (October 2017), there is a significant chasm between commonly held beliefs about Alzheimer’s disease and the actual facts about Alzheimer’s. Let’s take a look at some of those myths versus facts:

Most women (over 70% polled) believe that symptoms don’t begin until their 60’s.

Actually, symptoms develop 20 – 30 years before diagnosis
Also, women are at a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease, as 66% of diagnoses are women.

44% of Americans have no concerns about Alzheimer’s because it doesn’t run in their family.

Your genes do not accurately predict Alzheimer’s disease.

54% of those polled believe that the long term care costs will run around $25,000 per year.

In 2014, the average nursing home stay costs $87,000 per year.
In 2014, the cost of home health care costs $45,800 per year.

Preparing for Alzheimer’s

Once we have the facts around this insidious disease, we are better able to prepare for the possibility of living with Alzheimer’s. You can click here to read the details of this poll and even download the key findings from the survey.

A future with Alzheimer’s disease is very likely, especially if you are female. Keep this in mind when planning your long term care options. Although most people (66%) want to be cared for by family members, few are having the conversation.

Taking steps to plan today can relieve your family of an unnecessary burden in the future. Plus, you’ll receive professional medical care, either at a facility or in the comfort of your home.

Now that you know, why would you wait?

Click here to receive your personal quote for Long Term Care Insurance.

How Could This Happen? A Story of Procrastination

September 18, 2017 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

“June 22, 2012 – Patient needs assistance at home, currently does not need medical care. Patient lives very remotely and may not be able to find certified caretakers,” read the physician’s comments on the “Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment” form. And just like that, the patient (my client) became eligible to start receiving long term care insurance payments. “Diagnosis: G30.1 Alzheimer’s”

With this diagnosis, many of us would immediately spring into research mode. We would take a deep dive into the science around this disease, build an understanding of the future symptoms and also determine what care would be needed as the disease advanced.

Many of us would, but not everyone. Because in order to begin the research, we must first accept the reality of our new circumstances.

Three Years Later…

His wife (also my client) called me two years ago, asking me to review his policy with her. We discussed his diagnosis. I recommended that she hire home care, as originally recommended by the doctor. I also suggested that she research other options that would probably be needed in the future, like assisted living.

His long term care insurance (LTCi) policy currently pays $208 per day for home care, assisted living, nursing home care, and more. This couple is eligible to receive over $6,000 per month! It would have begun payments on the first day he needed care, covering up to four years at home and unlimited time in an assisted living facility.

Last Month: Still Not Claiming Long Term Care Insurance Payments

His wife called again just a couple of weeks ago, asking for another policy review. I could tell she was stressed and distracted. Her mind was unfocused. She was too distraught to fully digest my answers to her questions. She also had questions that had nothing to do with the LTCi policy.

I could feel the fear, as she was finally facing the reality of her husband’s condition. I wish I could have sat with her, rubbed her shoulders, and given her a hot cup of tea. In retirement, this couple had moved to a very rural area in Colorado and they have limited access to traditional care.

By the way, even in very rural areas, there are fantastic alternative solutions available, including ways to locate qualified caregivers. Especially, like my client, if your LTCi provides the financial coverage for these needs.

The High Cost of Delayed Filing

Primary family caregivers typically suffer physical, mental, and financial problems twice as often as non-caregivers. Purchasing a LTCi policy will significantly ease these challenges. But that’s only the first step.

You also have to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and ask for help. You’ve faithfully paid the premiums all these years. This help is yours to receive.

The husband’s long term care insurance payments could have already provided many tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in claim payments by now. Their lives could have been far less stressful with more joy and dignity.

With LTCi, as with other things in life, planning ahead can greatly reduce suffering. This couple did the right thing, the wise thing, when they bought their LTCi. When they heard the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, they sunk into denial. Very, very powerful, unnecessesarily stressful denial, with expensive consequences, both financially and emotionally.

Your LTCi purchase is about preserving wealth. But more importantly, your LTCi purchase is about having dignity, options, and access to high quality care when needed.

We have control over whether to be honest about the truth or deny it.

Take the first step in planning for an easier life. Click here to receive a free quote for long term care insurance.

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