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Alzheimer’s Disease – A Rapidly Approaching Medical and Financial Crisis

March 28, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

The odds that you’ll have Alzheimer’s disease are 1 in 8, according to the “2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures” (Alzheimer’s Association:225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17 Chicago, IL 60601-7633). An estimated 5.4 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s, 5.2 million of whom are over 65. And your odds increase to 1 in 2 if you live to age 85. As the sixth leading cause of death in theUnited States, this tragic disease currently costs over $200 Billion to treat, and that annual cost is expected to rise to $1.1 TRILLION by 2050!

Where will all that money come from? Medicare and Medicaid pay for 70% of the current annual cost, and over 15 million Americans provide unpaid care for a person with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. With each passing year, government funds will become increasingly insufficient to cover this staggering expense, leaving the burden of care on family and friends. And tragically, even today 800,000 people with Alzheimer’s live alone and as many as half of them have NO caregiver. We can only imagine how that number will soar with each passing year.

So what’s the answer? The good news is that “cognitive impairment” is a valid basis for a claim on all long-term care insurance (LTCi) policies. So if this tragedy strikes you and you have purchased such a policy, your LTCi will take the burden off of the US government as well as your family and friends. The choice is yours…

Long term Care Insurance (LTCi) Could Liberate You

March 8, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

Recent research on how much money retirees spend (Expenditure Patterns of Older Americans, 2001 – 2009 Issue Brief, February 2012, No. 368: 1100 13th Street, NW Suite 878 Washington, DC 20005-4051). uncovered still another advantage of owning LTCi. Careful tracking of the actual spending of 5,000 older households from 2001 to 2009 showed that median household spending declines steadily as elders age.

Further analysis showed that retirees who owned LTCi spent considerably more than retirees without this insurance. Researchers ruled out the explanation that those who owned LTCi were actually wealthier than their counterparts. When compared with elders with the same levels of wealth and income, those with LTCi spent more. Why? Those without LTCi are more cautious and frugal to save funds they will need to cover the exorbitant costs of long-term care. As we know, such costs include about 70% of Americans over 65.

The lesson? Reduce financial stress and live more comfortably in your final years by investing in LTCi TODAY. This very important decision will give you financial peace of mind – in addition to removing the likely burden of your loved ones having to become your caregivers.

Dear Abby is a Broken Record

March 3, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

Dear Abby often advises the topic of people who have not prepared for long-term care. Here’s a recent blog I did about this in September, 2011. In her February 25, 2012 column she describes the issue of elderly neighbors who are now sick and in need of long-term care, for which they have obviously failed to plan responsibly. They would have very likely found LTCi premiums to be very affordable if they had purchased it when they were healthy enough to qualify. Now they are paralyzed by fear and are dogmatically making unwise, unsafe decisions as a result.

Here’s the column:

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have become fond of a delightful elderly couple, “Frank” and “Annie.” We bought the home across the street from them 10 years ago. They have four children, two of whom live nearby.

Two years ago, Frank was diagnosed with dementia. They are adamant about staying in the house they’ve owned since they were newlyweds. This means more of the burden of caring for the house and finances now falls to Annie, who has health problems of her own.

We help out whenever we can, because I know money is tight for them. When their lawnmower broke, we bought them a new one, and with the help of another neighbor, we take care of general yardwork and house issues.

I am growing increasingly concerned about the state of their finances, and bewildered that their children never seem to help. They interact with their parents at birthdays and on holidays. I don’t know the children well, but is there a way to help them understand that their parents may not be volunteering all their troubles?

Frank and Annie are proud of what they’ve accomplished, but now they need a little extra support. They never ask for help, but gratefully accept it if it’s offered. Would I be out of line to communicate with our neighbors’ family?

— LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

DEAR LOVE THY NEIGHBOR: Out of line? Not at all. The “children” should be told about your concerns, and also the various things you and the other neighbors have been doing to help their parents. Sometimes the children of aging parents don’t recognize the subtle changes that take place when a loved one has dementia. Bring it out in the open, and you’ll be doing all of them a favor.

Why didn’t Abby take this golden opportunity to recommend pruchase of long-term care insurance? Perhaps it’s same mysterious reason the majority of Americans avoid discussing responsible long-term care planning.

The vast majority of caregivers in the U.S. are unpaid family members like Annie, her children, or neighbors like these. If these neighbors were concerned enough to write to Abby, it’s clear to me that what little assistance these neighbors are providing is not enough. Frank and Annie could already be collecting from their long-term care insurance, if they owned it.

I WANT MY FATHER TO DIE!!!!

February 20, 2012 by Honey 3 Comments

In Daddy Issues: Why caring for my aging father has me wishing he would die (Atlantic Magazine, March 2012), Sandra Tsing Loh presents a personal account of the stress and sense of futility and eventual desperation she feels in her struggle to care for her aging father.

Ms. Loh begins with Gail Sheehy’s description of the freedom 50-year old’s experience after the kids are grown and their parents are enjoying their “golden years” by cashing in on frequent flyer miles to travel the globe – which differ from Ms. Loh’s experience as much as heaven differs from hell.

In fact, over 70% of all Americans over 65 will need some form of long-term care, and although Ms. Loh’s experience is extremely difficult, it is not uncommon. Her account begins with her father’s plan that his much younger wife would care for him. This failed miserably when her signs of dementia began to occur at the same time he declined dramatically.

She continues with her futile attempts to hire caregivers (at her own expense), most of whom quit the first day because her father is such a difficult case. Once she finally finds someone who can handle her father, she and the caregiver form a team, and the need for her substantial role wreaks havoc with her own life.

This article is quite long and very difficult to read. Her sad story and her honesty about her struggle are very provocative. Many readers commented that the author is a self centered bitch, while just as many laud her for her candor and humor. Still others commented in spectacular detail about their resentment & anger towards their own needy parent.

Since I see or hear about variations of this dilemma every day, I admire Ms. Loh’s candor and courage in telling her sad story, which she expressed with great honesty and a sense of humor.

Anyone who takes the time to read it will want to own long-term care insurance.

The Cost of Entitlements Just Goes Up and Up

February 15, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

“Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It” (NY Times, Feb. 12, 2012, pp. A1, 24) presents frightening trends that threaten the well being of every American. A myriad of benefits programs provided over $6,500 for every man, woman and child in the US in 2009, a 69% increase from 2000. And although the primary objective of these programs was to keep Americans out of poverty, the poorest Americans no longer receive the majority of government benefits.

Trends in the need and cost of these programs are sobering. Nearly 50% of Americans lived in households receiving government benefits in 2010, up from 38% in 1998 and 44% just before the recession in 2007. And spending on medical benefits is projected to rise 60% over the next 10 years. As the baby boomers age, the number of Americans covered by Medicare will increase by one-third. These increases will make spending on medical benefits higher than every other expenditure in the federal budget expect interest on the national debt – higher even than the money invested in education or defense!

And where will the money come from to cover all these national expenses? Not from the taxes we pay. For example, “a 45-year old woman who earns $43,500 in 2010 will pay taxes worth $87,000 to the federal government by the time she retires, BUT the government will spend $275,000 for her medical care before she dies. As the economists say, “There is no free lunch.”

As the boomers age, increasing numbers of them will also need long-term care, which is covered by Medicaid or personal funds, NOT Medicare. And, of course, the demand for long-term care will continue to increase – even as Medicaid funds shrink. How sad…

One way to maintain your dignity in your final years AND to minimize physical, emotional and financial stress on your family is to own long-term care insurance to cover these expenses that can average over $70,000 per year. You owe it to yourself and your family to give this option careful thought.

Request a Free, No-Obligation LTCi Quote

Alzheimer’s Disease – A Rapidly Approaching Medical and Financial Crisis

Long term Care Insurance (LTCi) Could Liberate You

Dear Abby is a Broken Record

I WANT MY FATHER TO DIE!!!!

The Cost of Entitlements Just Goes Up and Up

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