LTC Insurance Archives - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

The Question Every Millenial/Gen X-er, etc. Should Be Asking Their Parents

December 24, 2020 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

The blog below was written by my good friend and long-time colleague, Phyllis Shelton. I’ve re-published it because I can’t possibly think of a way to say it better. Thank you, Phyllis!

Okay. You need a grownup question to ask your parents besides,

Can I borrow the car keys? Or Have you seen my car keys?
When am I going to get a car?
Can I get a raise on my allowance?
Can I have a toy, ice cream, ANYTHING?

You are WAY PAST those whiny ones. Your parents (or someone) generally raised you out of them. They took care of you, good, bad or indifferent childhood as you may have had. They sheltered you, fed you, sent you to school, and kept you from dying before today from all the crazy things you did as a kid.

Now it’s your turn. We don’t ever, ever, EVER want to think of our parents as getting old and needing our help.

I get it. But think you must.

With the pandemic and news shouting at you on every device that saving for retirement is going to be even harder now, is it even possible to consider that you might have to step up and help your parents

…at the peak of your career

…when you are sending your own kids to college?

…when you are trying to make (or repair) your marriage to be the best ever?

Fortunately, you don’t have to…if you ask The Question.

Mom/Dad, do you have long-term care insurance?

Then before they can react, add “I really appreciate everything you have done for me. I want to know you will be taken care of someday just as well as you have taken care of me.”

If the answer is “yes,” ask them to show you where the policy is in case you need to access it suddenly.

If the answer is “mind your own business,” you have to be firm with “This is my business. You are my parents and I owe you everything. I want to be there for you, but I will need the resources so I can quarterback your care. I’m concerned that I won’t be able to do it myself plus take care of [name your spouse, children].

Oh honey we would never expect you to do that.

Then give me two minutes to tell you what I have learned from TIME, Inc.

Most long-term care which is care lasting longer than 90 days is not in a nursing home.
Most people are never in a nursing home.
A spouse (partner) can’t do it all. Mom will want to, but we want her to have time with [name your kids]. She will need time to rest and when is the last time she picked you up?
Hiring caregivers in 20 years could easily cost $40/hr. That gets to be a couple of hundred thousand a year pretty fast.
Those country club assisted living facilities are projected to be a quarter of a million a year in 20 years…couples can stay together when they no longer want to keep up their house and they look nothing like nursing homes…
Health insurance and Medicare don’t pay for long-term care. After about three months, you are on your own…pay with your own money, pay with some type of long-term care insurance, or go on Medicaid, which means spending down most of your retirement savings.
Over half of people age 65 are expected to need some type of LTC in their lives…probably won’t be nursing home care, but home care can actually cost more than a nursing home, depending on how much you have. [Reference another family if you know one that has spent an inordinate amount of money today…like “you know Jamie had to hire round the clock caregivers for his dad for four years at over $200,000 a year and he just passed away a couple of years ago. I can’t imagine what they would pay 20 years from now.]
Today there are policies that have guaranteed premiums so you never have to worry about rate increases and can be paid off early so you don’t have to pay premium in retirement.
Policies like these return the money to a beneficiary if you never need care so it’s not the “use it or lose it” kind.
There are policies that pay a cash benefit so you can save money by hiring anyone you want to take care of you.
All those benefits are tax-free.
There are policies that you can buy with your IRA or 401(k) if that’s the best way and even those can be tax-free after a few years.
There are even policies that protect your assets from Medicaid if you ever had to go in that direction. What worries me about this is with this pandemic, state budgets are really slashed and it might be tough to get much help from Medicaid when you need it.

I love you Mom and Dad and I’m bringing this up because I want to be sure you are taken care of as well as you took care of me [and name your siblings]. You have to check on this stuff when your health is good so that’s why I’m bringing it up now. If I gave you a couple of websites to look at, would you do that for me?

The Latest Long Term Care Statistics – 2019 Update

December 23, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Christine Benz updates her “Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care” report every year and the newest LTC information is now available. She is a Personal Finance Director at Morningstar and these annual reports are packed with invaluable long term care statistics. We’re so grateful to her for this!

No stranger to the value of long term care, Benz openly shares about her obsession (her words!). Both of her parents required it later in their lives. Even though her parents had the funds to pay for their LTC, “… it was still a terribly hard process for them, my siblings, and me.”

Ms. Benz’s statistics cover a broad spectrum. If you click on the link to the report, you’ll find that each statistic is linked to the underlying research.

Some Interesting Long Term Care Statistics

How long will we actually use our long term care coverage?

Women will need more LTC than men.
48% of us will likely need LTC for less than a year.
21% of us will likely need LTC for 2-5 years.
13% of will will need LTC for more than 5 years.

She shows us who and at what age people will need LTC, and how long they’ll need LTC coverage. Women will need more LTC than men. Although 48% of us will need LTC for less than a year, 21% of us will need LTC for 2 – 5 years and 13% of us will need LTC for more than five years.

The Dementia Factor

38% of Americans over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s disease.
64% of those afflicted are women.
From 2000 – 2017, Alzheimer’s-related deaths rose by 145% (deaths from heart disease decreased by 9% over the same period).

The Costs of Long Term Care

LTC costs rose dramatically between 2000 and 2015. They’re now more than $208 billion/year.
51% of LTC costs were paid by Medicaid
The estimated lifetime cost of caring for a dementia patient is $350,174.
The median annual cost of living in a nursing home is $102,200 (depending on geographic location and facility amenities offered).

Statistics on the Unpaid Caregiver

34.2 million people provided unpaid care to someone 50 years or older during the past 12 months.
Over 75% of these unpaid caregivers are women.
The average age of these unpaid caregivers is 49.2, while 34% are 65 or older.
70% of caregivers experience work-related challenges due to their caregiving responsibilities.
If they are able to maintain their paying jobs, they report spending an additional 34.7 hours each week providing unpaid care.

Maintaining Your Independence

In light of the ever-increasing costs of long term care along with the increasing age of the U.S. population, the ability to afford effective medical care is more important than ever. Instead of relying on family or friends, consider the possibility of hiring trained professionals for your care. You can move into a safe, comfortable environment or receive regular visits in your own home.

Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi coverage. It’s a great time to learn what options are available to you in the future with just a little planning today.

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.

Keep Your Long Term Care Insurance After You Move to a CCRC

August 6, 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 to safely let go of their long term care insurance (LTCi). I do not recommend this!

Before you make this potentially dangerous decision for yourself or your parents, please read through these 3 experiences. Hopefully, they will serve as a cautionary tale and help you from repeating their mistakes.

1. Living in a CCRC Doesn’t Always Include Payment 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.

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, preferring 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. Nursing Care Paid Out-of-Pocket

When Hugh and his wife moved here to SPRC, they assumed that they no longer needed their LTCi since the CCRC would pay for their assisted living and nursing care. 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 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.

By remaining in assisted living, Hugh had to pay for round-the-clock 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. 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 onsite. 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.

Learning from Experience

You don’t have to have these experiences in order to learn the same lessons. 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.

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

There’s No Planning Without Communication

July 22, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Communication is one of the most important factors in any significant relationship, right? And yet it is usually absent or at least faulty when it comes to sharing important information about health and finances. Sometimes the parents hide information from their children or the kids keep details from their parents. Or spouses feel the need to protect one another from the truth of their declining health.

In a recent issue of the newsletter published by the Society of Actuaries, I read an article written by my friend and colleague, Eileen Tell. Tell is an academic and a researcher. Her article is based on findings from research she conducted for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In the article, Tell summarizes observations from consumer focus groups conducted as part of that study, intended to better understand a family’s search process for long term care services. The findings of the study support the same experiences I observe among my own clients.

“A common theme heard in all the groups was the lack of awareness of the decline in either physical or cognitive health of their loved one until this acute episode occurred.” By shielding family members from important facts, most are caught by surprise when there is a sudden decline in their health.

In many cases, it takes a major event to trigger family involvement. A fall, sudden illness, a stroke, or the unexpected need for a new primary caregiver. Family members find themselves unprepared to manage the important decisions that require immediate answers.

Communication Has To Happen

George Bernard Shaw wrote, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” You may wish that it happened. You may even think you were clear. But until all parties have the details and understand the situation, there’s no way you can properly prepare.

The study groups reveal the same patterns I see with my clients:

A lack of awareness of the decline in their loved one, until an acute episode occurred.
Aging parents typically shield their adult children from the realities of their limitations.
Where mom or dad ultimately winds up receiving care is very much a function of finances.

Sometimes, family members begin to address the sensitive subject of long term care, only to be met with silence, half-answers or a complete change of subject. Especially when it came to talking about paying for that care.

This type of denial is so widespread, that I’ve written many dozens of blogs about it.

I will never understand why people elect to re-act, rather than pro-act. I’ve seen many people who could have afforded long term care insurance (LTCi), but they refused to consider it. As if the very conversation was more taboo than their actual future without plans. LTCi can help cover a lot of future costs. Some often include care coordinators, too.

For my clients, LTCi is often transformative, a game-changer. This makes my career career hugely satisfying.

It’s rare to find families who are composed, level-headed and functional when long term care is needed. One thing should be obvious, though. When someone buys LTCi, they are stacking the deck in their favor that their future will unfold in a more dignified, graceful, considerate and affordable lifestyle.

Click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for your customized long term care policy.