AALTCI.org Archives - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Happy National Long-Term Care Awareness Month!

November 13, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month. The U.S. Congress has urged “the people of the United States to recognize (this) as an opportunity to learn more about the potential risks and costs … and the options available.” We’re proud to support this important educational campaign.

Long-Term Care Awareness Month was created by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCi). It’s purpose is to encourage the public to plan for the possibility of needing long-term care well in advance of when it might be needed.

You protect against other risks like a car accident or house fire. A need for long-term care is a risk to your savings and to your retirement. It will impact your family and loved ones. Just as it is smart to plan ahead for retirement, it’s smart to plan now for long-term care.

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, the Sequel

August 18, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

As I promised in my prior blog, Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1, here are a few corrections to Clark Howards error-riddled piece masquerading as journalism. You will find the following comments, and more, posted at the bottom of Mr. Howard’s piece. The very best commenter is last.

Jesse Slome Executive Director American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance comments:

“Some good info some outdated info (including companies that no longer offer this product). May I suggest starting with 4 consumer guides that are a quick read and offer current facts and suggestions on ways to make this most affordable. You can find them at http://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance-costs and NO sign-in info is required to access them. Today, because of the many changes, it really pays to work with a long term care insurance specialist. That is someone who has helped 100 (or more) people get this protection.”

From Phillip Sullivan President – SellingLTC.com www.sellingltc.com:

“An insurance company’s financial rating does not guarantee there will never be a premium increase. Premium increases are caused by product pricing and current interest rates (which have been historically low for some time). Case in point, State Farm (Rated A++) increased its rates in 2012 on their LTCi policies sold from 1997-2001 in 15 states, (including Georgia with a 12% average increase) and other states increased as high as 40%. You further recommend using an independent broker who can shop the market. This is good advice, except independent brokers cannot sell State Farm, USAA, Northwestern Mutual or New York Life.”

From D.O Long Term Care Specialist. PO Box 1654 Snellville Ga 30078:

“As stated by Mr. Slome, some good info while some outdated info also. States Farm does not work with independent brokers and the plans they tend to recommend do not include the compounded inflation protection options which is highly recommended for younger folks as well as required for the Georgia Partnership Program. In addition, I disagree with the idea of not buying ltc if you are rich. Rich folks do not self insure their homes or health insurance. Why would anyone want to self insurance a potential risk that can result in financial ruins. They are various options from traditional ltc policies to hybrids plans. Best time to look into ltc is while you are in good health. The younger the better for obvious reasons.”

And here’s my very favorite comment, from “Signed, A concerned life and securities professional”:

“Hey Clark, if you want to provide your opinion, then state that it is an OPINION. You are not licensed by the State of Georgia as an insurance agent, nor are you federally licensed to provide financial advice on stocks, mutual funds, and any other investment platform. Stop providing ADVICE of every kind, as although I am sure you have good intentions, you ARE NOT LICENSED TO PROVIDE ADVICE, and many of your readers/listeners will accept your words as gospel. Your comment where you say “you should not buy LTC insurance if you are very wealthy or don’t have a lot of assets” is not necessarily wrong, however it is not wholeheartedly accurate. Blanket statements are unacceptable in our profession, and only by an individual/family working with a duly licensed professional can proper and case specific information and advice be provided. I am licensed in many states as a life agent AND as a securities professional. MY opinion is that by providing incomplete information, you are causing more harm than good. Even if ONE PERSON makes a poor decision based on your incomplete information, you are doing a disservice to my profession. As I work for a national firm with a large compliance department, I cannot sign my name because I did not get preapproval to write this note. This is because many large firms want to make sure that all written communication with clients meets both the firm’s and various regulatory requirements. Even if I had preapproval, I could not write an article such as yours, because it was incomplete and somewhat misleading.”

Happy Long-Term Care Awareness Month!

November 5, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

At End of Life, Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Thousands Out of Pocket

September 14, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

At end of life, Medicare beneficiaries spend thousands out of pocket is the title of an article by Sarah Kliff, published on September 10, 2012, in the Washington Post.

This article reports on a recent study performed by Amy Kelly, a professor at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

“As more Baby Boomers retire,” Kelley writes, “A new generation of widows or widowers could face a sharply diminished financial future as they confront their recently-depleted nest egg following the illness and death of a spouse.”

This is because Medicare is among the fastest growing line items in the federal budget, already paying out $500 billion a year in benefits. But Medicare does not pay for all health care expenses.

Dr. Kelly reports that a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries spend all of their wealth paying for medical and long-term care expenses during the last five years of their lives, with the average beneficiary spending $38,688.

My guess is that most of the $38,688 spending average comes from long-term care expenses, not from medical care or treatments. In her report, Dr. Kelly mentions that dementia patients have the highest out-of-pocket expenses. The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) concurs and has plenty of statistics proving that the longest lasting, most expensive long-term care insurance claims are from dementia patients. Medicare does a decent (but imperfect) job of paying for acute medical problems and treatments, but Medicare’s biggest shortcoming is in the area of payment for long-term care.

It is tragic to have a long decline after a long, healthy, active life. It is doubly tragic to decline and then see your money fly out the window paying for long-term care expenses. This is rarely what anybody plans to do. However, if you don’t converse about long-term car ahead of time, you are failing to plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Do Long-Term Care Insurance Carriers Pay Their Claims? You Bet!

August 24, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

A US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy (April 2010) study sought answers to the following:

Is the denial of benefits to policyholders making claims on their policy appropriate?

Is the approval of benefits to policyholders making claims on their policy appropriate?

Their findings are based on the analysis of 1,200 claims from companies accounting for 70% of industry claims.

“An estimated 200,000 policyholders are currently claiming benefits.”

“The review indicated that everyone who was eligible to receive a payment for benefits under their policy, in fact received it, and those who the insurance company determined did not meet their policy triggers did not rceive payments.”

“There are many reasons that a payment might be denied or delayed after an insurer is approved for benefits based on the clinical criteria of their policy. These reasons include provider ineligibility, elimination period not met, coordination of benefits (other payment source), and lack of documentation about service costs or bills.”

“Insurance companies tend to err slightly on the side of approving claims that may not meet policy eligibility criteria.”

“The clinical audit team found that 19% of the sample had not met their elimination period within six months of notification of clinical benefit eligibility, while another 14% had not submitted bills within the same timeframe.”

“Upon a blind review of cases, clinical auditors would have approved 65% of the cases for benefits, denied 30% and would have required additional or clarifying information in 5% of the cases. Put another way, the clinical auditors would have approved 5% fewer cases than the insurance company adjudicators…”

Re-published from the 2012-2013 Sourcebook for Long-Term Care Insurance Information (Thousand Oaks, CA: American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, 2012).

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Happy National Long-Term Care Awareness Month!

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, the Sequel

Happy Long-Term Care Awareness Month!

At End of Life, Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Thousands Out of Pocket

Do Long-Term Care Insurance Carriers Pay Their Claims? You Bet!

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