I'll Just Self-Insure Archives - Page 18 of 34 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Undeniable Proof That LTCi Is Good for America!

November 24, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

A report proving how and why long-term care insurance (LTCi) helps all of us and our country was just published. LifePlans conducted the study over a period of twelve years. It was commissioned by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).

Here’s background on the report.

The report shows that that for LTCi policyholders:

A typical 60-year old LTCi policyholder would pay $188/month in premium for the same amount of care they would otherwise have to save $1,666/month, for 22 years, for.
Roughly 22 years of premium payments would be returned after only five months of collecting from the average LTCi policy.
The majority (97.6%) of all LTCi claims get paid. My experience has been that the only reasons LTCi claims are not paid are due to incomplete claim paperwork or no true need.
Most LTCi claimants agree that LTCi enhances access and flexibility as they seek to obtain to the services of their choice.
LTCi owners receive on average 35% more hours of care than those without, and their care is also more likely to address their needs.
The LTCi industry currently serves 7.4 million policyholders and is expected to pay out roughly $700 billion in claims over the life of those policies.

For Family Caregivers, the report shows:

Individuals caring for family members with LTCi are nearly twice as likely to be able to continue working as when there is no LTCi.
Caregivers of LTCi claimants experience less stress finding appropriate services for their loved ones.
LTCi enables family members to spend less time on hands-on care and more on social interaction and companionship, which leads to better experiences and less stress.

Why the report proves that LTCi is good for America:

Because LTCi covers a majority of LTC costs, insureds are not forced to depend on Medicaid.
Between 21 and 31% of insured nursing home residents would spend down to qualify for Medicaid if they did not own LTCi. Fewer than 5 percent of LTCi policyholders spend down to Medicaid.
Today’s 7.4 million current LTCi policyholders are expected to save the Medicaid program about $50 billion over their lifetimes. Annualized Medicaid savings per in-force policy are about $334.

The graphics in the report are great. They are straightforward and easy to understand, as is the report itself. If you would like to receive a copy of the entire report, email me at honey@honeyleveen.com.

“Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”: See it!

November 17, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Google “Glen Campbell” and you will find hundreds of links to stories about this famous and beloved entertainer and his struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. A documentary called “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me” is opening across the country during October and November 2014, to very favorable reviews. Click here to see a film trailer.

Jim and I just saw the film on its opening day here in Houston. We not only enjoyed it, but we also highly recommend that you see the film. If you miss it, you should be able to find it on Amazon or as part of your Netflix subscription.

Although the film is on a very tough subject, it is thoroughly entertaining. It is unabashedly graphic and candid. Mr. Campbell’s ordeal is described and shown, but not ruminated on. As this Variety story states, laughter outweighs tears in the film.

It is very clear to me that Mr. Campbell and his large, well-functioning, loving, courageous family are sharing their experience to help educate and warn people to plan for long-term care, due to the impending Alzheimer’s epidemic.

The family has been accused of exploiting Mr. Campbell’s condition for personal gain. How ridiculous! They already have huge wealth, and I doubt that the film will generate much money. Even though it is excellent, it’s no blockbuster.

In one of the interviews I watched (minute 3.20), Mrs. Campbell says Mr. Campbell needed not one, but two caregivers at a time to help with lesser-known Alzheimer’s symptoms, such as agitation, nightmares and hallucinations. She says that he has now progressed to Stage 6 and lives in an Alzheimer’s specific facility.

None of the articles I read or interviews I watched disclosed the cost of Mr. Campbell’s care. It is undoubtedly exorbitant. It is also obvious to me, and I will bet my entire career on this, that he does not own long-term care insurance (LTCi). I am sure that if he owned LTCi, it would have been mentioned and praised.

Yet Mrs. Campbell appears to be composed and shows few or no signs of caregiver stress. She and her children are present and involved with her husband’s care, but not shackled to his side. Good outcomes under the circumstances described, are simply a matter of having enough money. Google Glen Campbell net worth to discover he is worth $50 million. This family has so much money that the cost of giving Mr. Campbell the very best possible care is of little consequence to them.

Few of us are as wealthy as the Campbells. If we have need and want to access high quality long-term care and all the dignity associated with it, without damaging our family or finances, there is no other option than LTCi ownership.

Nursing Home Infections Are Increasing…Surprise (Not!)

October 17, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Here’s an October 9, 2014 article from McKnight’s LTC News describing recently published findings that show across the board infection rates in nursing homes have surged during the past five years.

Quoting from the article, “The prevalence of viral hepatitis in nursing homes increased 48% between 2006 and 2010, the investigators determined. MDRO prevalence increased by 18% and pneumonia by 11%. The rates of urinary tract infections, septicemia and wound infections also rose.”

Here are several additional blogs I’ve done about Medicaid’s shortcomings. Because most long-term patients in nursing homes are on Medicaid (a form of Welfare), and because Medicaid’s reimbursement to nursing homes is actually less than the cost of caring for such patients, many nursing homes are unprofitable. We all agree that the most important employees in nursing homes are the custodial caregivers. These are the lowest paid people on the economic totem pole. Counter-intuitively, these critical frontline caregivers are often the first place nursing homes fire to cut expenses.

My opinion is that because of inadequate care in many Medicaid-funded nursing homes, corners are cut. Quality of care suffers. Sad outcomes then occur. This is what is causing the rapid rise of nursing home infections. It is not hard to connect the dots on this one.

Many nursing home patients end up in such facilities because they do not have money to access better care. People who own long-term care insurance (LTCi) are far less likely to wind up in Medicaid-funded nursing homes. They are far more likely to end up in preferable, far nicer assisted-living facilities.

New Report Exposes High Costs Associated Dearth of Dignified Death

October 13, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Last week, reporting on the largely broken, slippery slope of costly, undignified end-of-life outcomes too many families experience, broke in the news.

The news reported on a 21-member nonpartisan committee that was part of the National Academy of Sciences. This committee just released a report calling for sweeping changes in end-of-life care.

Many of the recommended changes could be accomplished without legislation. Other recommendations are just common sense AND would save a lot of money.

Here’s a summary of the recommendations:

Reimburse health care providers for conversations on advanced care planning.
Restructure Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care delivery programs.
Eliminate perverse financial incentives that encourage expensive hospital procedures when low-tech services like pain management and home health care are available.
Finally, accredited medical schools and groups as well as health providers should greatly increase training in palliative care.

My opinion is these changes cannot happen soon enough. I hope such reporting, accompanied by public outrage, continues.

Fighting to Honor a Father’s Last Wish: To Die at Home

October 1, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Tying into last week’s news of the new report titled “Dying on America” I will recommend two stories that bring the report into the most personal of terms.

Here’s a past blog I did describing a gripping, highly rated book called, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”. It puts what is imparted in the new report into very poignant, personal, compelling terms.

Just like the book “Knocking on Heaven’s Door, an article in the September 25, 2014 New York Times, called “Fighting to Honor a Father’s Last Wish: To Die at Home” is a heartbreaker.

Both the New York Times article and Knocking on Heaven’s Door put a human face on what “Dying in America” recommends, in the most poignant, heartbreaking ways.

The New York Times article describes a very beautiful, loving, highly functional American family. Despite the daughter’s tenacious, enduring fight to bring her father home, and at great personal sacrifice, our current system kept her father away from home. Most of his final years were spent bouncing between various forms of expensive, often negligent, in-patient care.

Home would have offered the father far more dignity and quality of life, much less suffering, at far less cost. The article beautifully, heartbreakingly, illustrates this.

Quoting from the article, “Many geriatric experts say that if the wasteful medical spending on this stage of life could be redirected, it could pay for all the social supports and services actually needed by today’s fragile elders and their families. Instead, public money has been shuffled in the same system, benefiting health care businesses but not necessarily patients.”

The changes recommended would most likely come at a net savings to the government. I hope reporting like this, combined with public lobbying, brings the recommended changes.

Request a Free, No-Obligation LTCi Quote

Undeniable Proof That LTCi Is Good for America!

“Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”: See it!

Nursing Home Infections Are Increasing…Surprise (Not!)

New Report Exposes High Costs Associated Dearth of Dignified Death

Fighting to Honor a Father’s Last Wish: To Die at Home

From My Blog

Podcast Illuminates LTC Need

LTCI is Magical at Time of Need!

Testimonials