long-term care Archives - Page 12 of 12 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Is Warehoused Long-Term Care Imminent?

August 9, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

For those who refuse to plan responsibly for long-term care, the nightmare of warehoused care that I think is a certainty in years to come, may be a very unpleasant reality sooner than I thought.

The July 29, 2011 edition of McKnights Long-Term Care News reports that Medicare payments to nursing homes would be trimmed by 11.1% beginning Oct. 1, under a corrective proposal the federal government issued.

The call for reduced funding comes amid reports that providers have been paid more than $2 billion above federal projections since a new payment system took effect late last year.

The recalibration will result in a reduction to skilled nursing facility payments of $4.47 billion or 12.6%, according to CMS. However, that drops to an 11.1% cut when offsetting increases are factored in.

Entitlement Bandits Rob Medicaid/Medicare

August 1, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

A brief, new Cato Institue video explains the causes of high rates of Medicaid fraud.

The biggest reason is because Medicaid money is “other peoples’ money.” If Medicaid’s accounting were run more like private enterprise, like a credit card company, fraud would be cut down dramatically.

This video ties into long-term care (LTC) well because Medicaid pays for the majority of facility-based LTC in the US. As has been discussed in earlier LTCQueen blogs, if Americans want to “have their cake and eat it;” in other words, preserve wealth and have their loved one receive Medicaid-paid LTC, it is just not that difficult to “game the system.”

President’s Day Message from Terry Savage

February 21, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

I am a huge fan of Terry Savage’s.

I’m providing a link to her piece titled “Pols are making us pay for their false promises” (Chicago Sun Times, Feb 21, 2011) because no one says it more succinctly and eloquently than Terry does.

Terry is describing the unsustainable “house of cards” that’s been created by continued spending of government money that doesn’t exist.

Government funding of long-term care is just one such entitlement.

If you agree with my opinion that it is entirely unrealistic to expect any help from the government when it comes to paying long-term care costs, you understand that long-term care insurance ownership is the only way to ensure dignity, options and choices if you wind up needing long-term care.

ElderRage-or-Take My Father…Please!

February 13, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

I’ve just fininshed reading “ElderRage-or-Take My Father…Please!” by Jacqueline Marcell (Irvine, CA: Impressive Press, 2001). I’d heard about this book for a long time and am sorry it took me so long to read it. I got my copy from Amazon.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting insight into the psychology of caregiving to the elderly. Ms. Marcell’s account is “from the trenches”. She describes the ordeal of being a caregiver to both of her parents, who suffered from dementia, in addition to other health problems. She does this all with great humor, which kept me very engaged in what was actually a very sad story. In addition to vividly describing how and why she became her parent’s parent, Ms. Marcell gives practical solutions and advice for the caregiver.

Funny Video Explains Medicaid Paid Care

January 12, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

Here’s a brief youtube video posted by the Pacific Research Institute that makes me chuckle.

With humor, it concisely points out the glaring Medicaid loopholes that are being abused by the American middle class.

Medicaid, a program established for the indigent and handicapped, pays for approximately half the long-term care in the US.

This video explains how middle class people can “game the system” and get Medicaid to pay for long-term care. With proper legal guidance, it’s just not that difficult.

This is a big reason why sales of long-term care insurance (LTCi) languish. Even though Medicaid-paid care usually takes place in under funded nursing homes, many Americans are seduced into getting the government to pick up the tab via Medicaid. Why spend money on LTCi premiums, they reason, even though LTCi gives a full spectrum of choices and options far more appealing than a Medicaid facility?

I have two questions for these people. First, how much longer do they think government funded Medicaid will pay for the care of people who are not really indigent? Second, why would anyone choose to wait until they need care to discover the difference between a Medicaid funded facility and the luxury of a facility funded via LTCi?

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Is Warehoused Long-Term Care Imminent?

Entitlement Bandits Rob Medicaid/Medicare

President’s Day Message from Terry Savage

ElderRage-or-Take My Father…Please!

Funny Video Explains Medicaid Paid Care

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