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November is National Long Term Care Awareness Month

November 5, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

November is upon us which means… It’s Long Term Care Awareness Month! And time for my annual awareness-raising post. Just kidding! Most of my posts are about raising awareness. ????

This isn’t just another “Hallmark Holiday”. Long Term Care Awareness Month was created by Congress in 2001. They recognize how important it is to bring this topic into the American conversation. Since then, several governors and mayors have also joined the campaign to highlight this important information campaign.

When it comes to being able to afford often catastrophically expensive long term care (LTC) costs, many of us are unprepared. Our government will not be able to adequately bear the costs of providing LTC. Long term care insurance costs are often a fraction of actual long term care costs.

Measuring Long Term Care Awareness

In 2017, Genworth Financial conducted a survey to see how informed Americans were on the costs, options and even the need for long term care. Participants in the survey shared that their greatest fear about aging was “not having enough money to pay for long term care.” Despite this fear (or maybe because of it? See past blog, “Indecision Paralysis“), only one in five of the respondents had any plan in place to pay for those future medical costs.

The survey found that at least part of this lack of planning is due to misunderstanding what kind of costs could be in their future and which of those costs would be covered by government programs.

“Two out of three adults expect government programs to partially or fully cover the costs of their long term care services, despite the fact that Medicare pays for only limited care and Medicaid has strict financial eligibility requirements. In addition, both programs have come under increasing funding pressure.”

When it came to the purpose of long term care insurance (LTCi):

62% did not understand what LTCi covers
61% didn’t know that LTCi can, among other benefits, help create personalized care plans and locate quality care providers

November is Perfect Timing

Many families spend more time together this time of year. This is a great time to start asking questions and exploring your options together. After all, the decisions you make today will affect your entire family in the future.

Genworth has a wonderful resource to guide family members through this unfamiliar territory. Their “Conversation Starters” can help you navigate though uncomfortable topics like wills, power of attorney, and health care directives. There’s also questions about lifestyle and preferences for medical care options.

November is the perfect month to protect you and your loved ones by building a financial plan. Proper planning can help you access the care you’ll need and will make the quality of life you envision a real possibility.

Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy.

Practical, Useful Advice for Caregivers

October 29, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Roslynn Carter once said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”

Helping a loved one as their caregiver is a selfless responsibility many of us will take on at some point during our lives.

Readers of this blog already know how stressful caregiving can be. Things get harder without detailed planning. Long term care insurance (LTCi) can provide some financial security and peace of mind.

Challenges Caregivers Face

To help caregivers understand and find solutions to their challenges, EduMed created a fantastic online guidebook for caregiving success. I like this guidebook because it is brief, concise, and gives actionable advice. I read many stories about caregiver and patient suffering and hardship. Very few sources provide practical, useful advice helping caregivers find their way forward.

The guidebook begins by highlighting the challenges facing caregivers on a regular basis. It’s important to know that these experiences are shared by so many others.

These challenges include:

Time Management — How to juggle daily errands, feeding & bathing your loved one, doctor appointments and your own self-care.
Stress (physical and emotional) — Like headaches, chest pain, loneliness and/or anxiety.
Lack of Privacy — Your life is no longer your own, as the needs of your loved ones take priority. Whether or not they or the rest of your family appreciate your efforts.
Financial Strain — Even with your attentive care, medical bills might be adding up. Without proper planning and effective coverage from long term care insurance, the pressure easily builds.
Lack of Sleep — The added responsibilities of caregiving can often lead to increased anxiety or insomnia.
Isolation — Spending so much time caring for your loved one can limit the time you used to share with friends. The mere idea of lunch out can sound like a fantasy.
Burnout — The combination of physical, mental and emotional energy required can overwhelm most people.

Suggestions to Support Caregivers

Fortunately, this guidebook gives some practical advice that caregivers can follow. They boil down to 3 major areas:

Process (organize your tasks)

Make lists, capture appointments and reminders on calendars. Research the numerous phone apps that are available (Some suggestions are included in the handbook).

People & Community (connect with a support system)

You don’t have to do this alone! For example, consider building a support team so you can delegate certain tasks. Find support groups so you can connect with others to share your stories, your woes and your wins.

Self Care (don’t forget YOU)

Even the lightest exercise routine can make a difference in your outlook. So can healthy food choices. And don’t forget to make time to have some fun (remember fun?). You can’t help anyone when your own tank is running on fumes.

Choosing to take care of a loved one is a huge decision, not to be made lightly. With all of the uncertainty and self-sacrifice, one of the most helpful things you can do is plan ahead. As I’ve written in multiple posts, have the conversation today! Decide what that care will look like, what’s expected of you and a reasonable budget.

Perhaps you’ve been thinking about long term care insurance (LTCi) to help reduce some of these challenges. Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy.

LTC Insurance is Still Useful While Living in a CCRC

October 16, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

As a resident at Shell Point Retirement Community (SPRC), I have had a number of interesting, eye-opening conversations with my neighbors. Many of them believe that living in a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) is an opportunity stop paying for their long term care insurance (LTCi), now that their care is provided by the facility. On the contrary, there are plenty of reasons you’ll want to continue maintaining your LTC insurance in a CCRC.

Before you make this potentially dangerous decision for yourself or your parents, take a moment to review the following list of expenses that can by paid for by LTC insurance. Without the benefit of LTCi, these costs will be paid out-of-pocket by the resident or family.

1. Paying for Home Care

Sally’s mother lived in SPRC for 26 years. Although she needed care, her mother did not own long term care insurance (LTCi), since she believed the CCRC would cover the costs of her needs. Over the years, Sally’s mother was unwilling to accept the fact that her health was deteriorating and that she needed additional care. Ideally, she would have moved to the on-site assisted living facility or elected for home care. She would not admit this.

The majority of CCRC’s pay for assisted living or nursing home care, but they don’t pay for home care.

As you’ll hear in Sally’s video testimony below, her mother was unwilling to pay for home care, even though she could afford it. She wanted to preserve her estate for the benefit of her children. Her situation got so dangerous that Sally had to enlist intervention by a professional to “force” her mother into better care. Sally realizes now that the entire situation could have been avoided if her mother had been covered by a LTCi policy.

2. One More Story About Needing Home Care

When Hugh and his wife moved here to SPRC, they assumed that they no longer needed their LTC insurance in a CCRC, since the cost of assisted living and nursing care was included. So they stopped paying their monthly LTCi premiums and let their policies lapse.

In her last months, Hugh’s wife became extremely disabled, needing care above and beyond what the assisted living facility could legally provide. Hugh was advised to move his wife to the on-site nursing home so she could receive the care she needed.

While life in the assisted living center provides a cheery, home-like atmosphere, the nursing home is more sterile and institutional. Hugh just couldn’t bear moving his wife into the nursing home. So he chose to keep her in the assisted living facility and supplement her care with 24 hour a day caregivers.

Hugh had to pay for his wife’s caregivers out of his own pocket. As he shared his story with me, I told him about my work. He recognized how much he regretted giving up their long term care insurance. He knows that if they’d kept their policies active, the cost needed for his wife’s additional care would have been covered.

3. Visiting Your Hairdresser

We often see wheelchair or walker-bound residents in our beauty salons, restaurants, walkways, or swimming pool. These are typically assisted living residents. They’re accompanied by scrub-clad caregivers. The cost of this personalized care is paid out-of-pocket and can really add up over time. With proper planning, LTCi can often help pay for these costs.

4. Meals Aren’t Free

You had to eat before, and you continue to need to eat when you reside in an assisted living facility. Eating is not part of long term care. Your high quality care is paid by the CCRC, but meals are not included. In my community, for example, there is an additional charge of approximately $1,000/month to cover meals. LTCi can help pay for this.

5. Apartment Space

At our CCRC, if you live in a fairly small home, you’ll be assigned a smaller assisted living apartment. If, however, you want to upgrade and move into a larger apartment, LTC insurance can often pay for the additional cost of a larger assisted living apartment at the CCRC. That’s right! Your long term care insurance payments could help cover the extra charges for more spacious living or a better view.

6. The Unexpected Need for an Off-site Facility

Nancy’s husband was stricken with Lewy Body Dementia. If this sounds familiar, this is the same illness that actor Robin Williams suffered from. This form of dementia can damage thinking and alertness. Symptoms can include physical stiffness, hallucinations and even violence.

As a result of his condition, Nancy’s husband became physically violent and needed more care than SPRC could safely provide. Despite their best efforts, SPRC was unable to keep him on-site. Nancy was forced to find an off-site facility that could properly care for her husband. Those unexpected costs (paid without the benefit of LTCi coverage) nearly demolished her savings.

Hold On to Your LTCi

Moving to a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) does not mean it’s time to end your long term care insurance policy. In fact, this may be the time you most want that peace of mind.

Now is the time to start planning for your future needs. Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy.

All the Single Ladies, All the Single Ladies… LTCi and Single Women

September 30, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

The need for long term care doesn’t think about your gender, your financial success or even your age. A life-changing medical crisis can barrel into your life when you least expect it, like an unexpected car accident. Or, it can sneak up on you, introducing subtle symptoms over time, barely noticeable. We see this, for example, with Alzheimer’s disease in people even in their 40s. What we do know is that single women are more in need for long term care insurance (LTCi) than others.

The Special Case for LTCi and Single Women

The two major factors driving the need of LTCi by women are longevity and caregiving.

It probably won’t surprise you to read that women live longer than men. More than two-thirds of Americans over the age of 85 are women. And 80% of centenarians are women. It’s no wonder most residents in nursing homes are women.

At the age of 75, almost 70% of women are single (widowed, divorced or never married). This means they typically live alone, without help with their daily tasks. And because of their historically lower earnings, single women at this age have significantly lower income from Social Security and other retirement plans.

Women are also more likely to be providing care for family members. 75% of people providing home care are women and typically a daughter caring for her mother. On average, she will devote 20 hours each week taking care of her mother. However, 1 in 6 caregivers will provide 40+ hours each week.

Older Women and Poverty

A report compiled by Justice in Aging last year found that out of the 7.1 million older adults that live in poverty, nearly two-thirds of them are women.

The report points to a number of issues that impact the incidence of poverty among women (You can click here to read the full report).

Wage Gap and Low Paying Jobs — 70% of workers earning $10/hour or less are women.
Caregiving — Caring for children and/or parents takes time away from paid employment.
Higher Health Care Costs — A 65-year old woman will spend $47,000 more in health care than a 65-year old man.
Domestic Violence — Affects physical and mental health, so it keeps women in poverty.
Wealth Gap — The Wage Gap reduces many women’s ability to accumulate wealth over their lifetimes.

If you are a woman, you are more likely to need medical care in your later years. Even if that care doesn’t begin until your 70s or 80s. If you have spent years taking care of parents and/or children, this is the time to start thinking about taking care of yourself.

Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy.

How I Discovered My Fate – Part 1

September 9, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

In high school, I remember my social studies teacher telling us that we were going to have an aging crisis. There was going to be an enormous bulge of Baby Boomers with unprecedented long lifespans. With longer lifespans, they would have medical needs like we have never experienced before. She explained that we were not equipped to handle this crisis. Little did I know this was my earliest career call!

This thought lodged into the subconscious of my brain, resting dormant for many, many years.

About 20 years later, I got my insurance license. In the early days of my career, I was an agent for life, health and disability insurance. Looking back, I’m so grateful I took the time to build this fundamental knowledge of insurance products. It’s really helped me and my clients in my work in long term care insurance.

Great Advice

When I got my insurance license, my beloved Aunt Ruth, who I dearly miss, mentioned that she had bought a long term care insurance (LTCi) policy for herself. She described what it was and how it worked. And she recommended that I look into this new product. She suggested that adding it to my growing portfolio of insurance solutions could create even more options to help my clients. To my credit, I already learned that my aunt’s advice was usually correct and I began my research.

Back in those days, I actually had to go to the library to research long term care insurance. I was unable to find any information in the books, magazines or journals on the shelves. So I turned to the microfiche (Do you remember those whirring machines?) where I finally found a few articles about this fascinating new insurance coverage. I was immediately intrigued and smitten by the nascent LTCi industry! The need and the product made so much sense to me!

A Quick LTCi History Lesson

While LTCi had been around since the 1970s, it really didn’t get much attention until the late 1980s. Even then, very few insurance agents understood it or offered it to their clients.

As my social studies teacher predicted so many years ago, our advances in medicine and technology were helping people live much longer than expected. Which was great news. Except that we forgot to plan for housing and care for our aging population as they became unable to care for themselves.

Heeding the Siren Call

Since my time in the microfiche stacks, the call of LTCi kept tugging at me. It was a brand new product. Hardly anyone owned it yet. Few people had ever heard of it. I could see the obvious need for it.

The economics were clear: Increased LTC Demand + Scarce Caregiver Supply = High LTC Costs.

Thanks to my early work, I already understood how insurance protects assets and gives people more access to a variety of options. The world of LTCi became an obvious path for me. A perfect fit!

LTCi is a product I could believe in with total conviction. It was something that could make a transformative difference for people and their families.

I believed the world needed a long term care insurance (LTCi) specialist. So, in the late 1980s, I launched my solo LTCi practice. I knew that being a pioneer in this industry would have its challenges. But I also believed the journey would end up helping a great many people!

More LTCi History: My Journey Begins

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my story!

In the meantime, if you’d like to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy, just click here.

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