I'll Just Self-Insure Archives - Page 5 of 34 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

The High Cost of Illiteracy You Haven’t Thought About

March 18, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has a handy fact sheet all about “Health Literacy”, starting with a definition:

“Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”

That ability to obtain — and understand — the necessary facts makes all the difference in how people choose to manage their health options.

The New York Times recently reported on the rising threat of health illiteracy in our country. And the numbers only get worse with age. In fact, only 3 percent of older adults qualify as having “proficient” health literacy.

Why Is It Harder For the Elderly?

There are a number of factors that contribute to the increase of health illiteracy in our aging population.

Complicated Information — Medical information is usually shared in technical, scientific language that can even confuse professionals.
Use of Jargon — Medical professionals sometimes fall back on industry jargon without explaining the meaning.
Stressful Conditions — When people are anxious, it’s even harder for them to make sense of the information being shared.
Cultural Differences — Sometimes there’s a language barrier that keeps people from fully understanding instructions. Even the most competent English speakers may not be able to follow the specifics of a prescription.
Cognitive Impairment — Declining brain function can have disastrous consequences when dosages are misunderstood or completely forgotten.

I’ve often blogged about age-related cognitive decline and it’s ill effects.

Too often, I see health illiteracy in clients I’ve known for many years. When we talk, I can tell they’re not the person I originally met. Instead, I hear fear, frailty and confusion. I worry for their ability to make safe choices for themselves.

One thing left out of the article is the decreasing access to family and community support. This is the elephant in the room. No amount of technology can replace the caring touch of another. I believe our increasingly isolated lifestyles are a major cause of loneliness, depression, fear, poor health outcomes, and health illiteracy. And it only gets worse as we age.

Our increasingly stressed medical system is doing it’s best to counteract the rise in health illiteracy, but this is an uphill battle. I’m not confident they’ll win.

Plan For Your Future Health Literacy

You can avoid health illiteracy well in advance. We are not going to regain our supportive communities from our grandparents’ generation. Make sure you have access to care and genuine concern when you need it. Plan for it and pay for it. Long term care planning in advance is essential.

To begin exploring your own options, click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for long term care insurance coverage.

The Special Case for Women and Alzheimer’s

December 19, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

As I reported in October 2015, Alzheimer’s disease has a disproportionate impact on women. As we close out 2018, the statistics have not improved for us. In fact, two-thirds of America’s 6 million Alzheimer’s patients are women. It’s time for us to pay special attention to women and Alzheimer’s disease.

First, some quick facts from the Alzheimer’s Association and the Women and Alzheimers site:

Every 65 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s
At age 65, a woman has a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Her risk for breast cancer is 1 in 11.
Also by age 65, a woman is twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than a man. By age 75, she is three times as likely.
More than 60% of unpaid Alzheimer’s caregivers (friends and family of Alzheimer patients) are women.

More Likely In Women

It seems like Alzheimer’s disease can affect any family at any time. So why is it more prevalent among women? Is it because women live longer than men? After all, the disease is more prevalent as we age. But we now know that the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s often begin 20 years before they are ever diagnosed.

Genetic risk factors are now getting more attention and focus. Back in the 1990s, scientists found that the presence of the ApoE4 gene was the primary culprit in the patient’s memory and other mental abilities. Further tests showed that this is more applicable to females.

Heart disease and smoking are also considered contributors to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. So is depression, which is more common in women than in men. And there is always the deepening discussion around hormonal changes that are so much more intense for women as they age.

Because women usually take on the responsibility of caregiving, there is some research that points to this extra emotional burden as a possible risk factor.

Alzheimer’s patients and their families have a great amount of uncertainty and difficult decisions in their future. If you or someone you love is a woman, extra care should be taken to prepare for this disease.

Don’t get caught by surprise when the statistics are this powerful. You can begin by clicking here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for a long term care insurance policy.

Affluent Retirees Won’t Spend Their Money!

August 22, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Affluent people often tell me they don’t need long-term care insurance (LTCi). They’ll self-insure, instead. This is contrary to my experience.

Traditional retirement planning typically calls for a gradual drawing down of savings to produce retirement income. Contrary to this long-held belief, a recent study published by Employee Benefit Research Institute (ERBI) proves otherwise. In fact, affluent retirees do not want to spend their money!

As illogical as it sounds, this is a point I have been writing about for years. Retirees find great comfort in the size of their nest egg and there is too much uncertainty in their future.

ERBI’s new study shows affluent retirees (with over $500,000 in non-housing savings) had only spent down 11.8 percent of their savings within the first twenty years of retirement. This is far less than projected. In fact about one-third of sampled retirees increased their assets over that period.

Relaxing About the Future

My strong opinion, based on nearly 30 years of client observation, is this: LTC insurance ownership releases people from an ever-present gray storm cloud of a possible LTC need looming on the horizon. The gray cloud grows ever larger with each passing year. Let’s call it the LTC Storm Cloud. It’s caused by fear of an unexpected, unplanned for, possibly catastrophically expensive “Spending Shock“, caused by a chronic long term care need.

An AHIP study released in 2014 (email me at honey@honeyleveen.com for the actual study) confirms LTC insurance owners get 35% more hours of care, as well as many additional advantages, such as increased independence and dignity, decreased financial stress, higher quality family relationships, and the list goes on.

The reason LTC insurance owners obtain more care is because they’re not paying for it out of their income or savings.

I see people denying their true need for care all the time. Often, it’s because they have the money for it, but just don’t want to spend it. They’re afraid of losing their wealth. Don’t let this happen to you!

When you’re ready to get some peace of mind about your future needs, click here to receive a no-obligation quote for your personal LTCi policy.

Curing Alzheimer’s – Part 2 (See It. Acknowledge It.)

June 14, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

In my last blog post, I shared insights on the current challenges in funding research to support curing Alzheimer’s disease. You’d think that funding would be the biggest step in the treatment process. It’s not.

In order to develop and properly test potential cures, scientists need a viable population of test subjects to study. As Karen Ellen Foley wrote (Quartz, May 20, 2018), it’s incredibly hard to gather these patients. Once a patient appears to have the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, they have usually passed the stage where it can be treated. The damage to the neurons is irreversible and not suitable for testing new cures.

Recognizing Symptoms is Critical to Curing Alzheimer’s

In addition to the late timing of symptoms, there is another complication to the diagnosis process. Not only is it hard to recognize the slow shift in behavior, but patients are often surrounded by family and friends who would rather not admit that their loved one is in need of medical care.

Foley describes a gentleman whose early Alzheimer’s symptoms started in the mid-2000’s. He knew something was wrong because fixing things around the house became difficult and names of friends slipped his mind. He couldn’t remember how to cut his wife’s hair, which he’d been doing throughout their marriage. This man and his wife saw he was having problems and refused to admit it could be serious.

Ten years later, his behavior finally got extreme enough that his wife insisted he see a doctor. For ten years, he was allowed to ignore his medical condition. For ten years, he avoided treatment. And why? They were both afraid how the diagnosis would change their lives. The disease didn’t care. It continued to escalate, with or without their acceptance.

The great majority of my clients refuse to acknowledge how incapacitated they are by dementia, and their families often go out of their way to continue the ruse and deny the obvious.

We have had several dementia sufferers among the members of my Rotary club. Even with my vast experience with my clients who are cognitively impaired, I don’t always notice every case. Alzheimer’s disease is easy to cover up, at least in early-to-mid stages.

Know the Signs

A tell-tell sign of dementia is sometimes a vacuous or a scowling expression. I sometimes misinterpret their mood as, “I don’t want to talk with you”. Message received. I leave them alone. Only later, when I learn of their diagnosis, I can connect the dots. Withdrawal is a classic sign of dementia.

I’ve attended enough Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presentations to know that faulty business decisions are another primary indicator of AD. I’ve had more than one client who insisted they were able to manage their business affairs. When they fall behind in paying their bills, it looks like simple forgetfulness. When one of those bills is their Long Term Care insurance (LTCi) premium, the results are catastrophic.

The Enabling Spouse

In an attempt to keep things feeling “normal”, the spouse will often avoid stepping in to help their loved one. They don’t take over the paying of bills. They make excuses and pretend nothing is wrong.

They still allow their spouse to drive!

The thought of this is terrifying to me. I have a friend who has a dementia diagnosis. She is still highly functional, and still driving, despite the fact that she’s already had a couple of accidents!

I’ve blogged about age-related, normal cognitive decline. This is not what I’m describing, yet this is what people want to believe is happening.

Admitting you have dementia is difficult and requires an honest conversation. Maybe multiple conversations. It creates the possibility for earlier intervention and a life of more grace and dignity. It will allow for more open relationships with friends and family members and reduce stress for the patient and family.

Advance planning for long term care (LTC) is the best way to ensure dignity, options, choices, grace. When you’re ready to explore your options, click here for your personal quote.

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.

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