Medicaid Archives - Page 16 of 16 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Health Care Reform Could Hit Nursing Homes Hard

May 31, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

In his May 16, 2011 article titled, Nursing Homes Seek Exemptions from Health Law“, New York Times reporter Robert Pear draws attention to the bleak outlook for Medicaid-paid long-term care (LTC).

Currently, Medicaid covers about two-thirds of nursing home residents. Since many Boomers will soon need long-term care services in a giant bulge, the result will be a “Silver Tsunami.” Unfortunately, very few Boomers have planned for this eventuality.

States set Medicaid rates, and many states, facing severe budget problems, have already reduced payments for nursing homes, which are also facing severe budget problems.

And now a further threat for this beleaguered system. Starting in 2014, health-care reform will require employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer affordable coverage or risk paying a penalty. For a mid-size nursing home, that penalty could easily exceed $200,000 a year. Faced with increasing budget shortfalls, nursing home executives are urging Congress and the Obama administration to spare them from the penalties.

25% of nursing home workers do not own health insurance. These employees are often on the lowest end of the wage scale.

The future is not looking too rosy for nursing homes and the frail, defenseless people they serve.

With minor exceptions, Medicaid pays for long-term care only in certain nursing homes. I believe many seniors who are currently receiving LTC in these nursing homes could experience a higher quality of life in assisted living facilities, but they simply cannot afford this type of care. Why? Because they failed to have a conversation about LTC planning while they were insurable and able to buy affordable LTCi. So they face the bleak reality of spending their final years in Medicaid-paid nursing homes.

Since the vast majority of Boomers have not planned for their LTC, what quality of care will be available to them when the Silver Tsumani overwhelms the available, underfunded nursing homes? Will Medicaid funding be adequate to provide the increased demand for LTC?

In view of this bleak future they are facing, the most baffling question is: why do Boomers continue to avoid having a conversation about responsible LTC planning?

Nursing Homes Look Younger

February 28, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

“Nursing Homes Look Younger” by Renee Lee was published in the February 21, 2011 Houston Chronicle.

From the article: “People ages 31 to 64 have entered nursing homes at a higher rate than those 65 and older in the past eight years, according to data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The age group has climbed to 14 percent of the nursing home population.”

This statistic ties in with my most recent blog about a friend in his mid-50s who had an accident about three months ago that bruised his spinal cord and temporarily rendered him a quadriplegic. He is slipping through the cracks of our medical system. His medical insurance carrier doesn’t want to pay for the extended nursing home care he needs. They claim that he is not recuperating quickly enough, despite the fact that according to his physical therapist, he is making good progress. So they want to send him home, where his wife is ill equipped to care for him. Sadly, the couple does not own long-term care insurance (LTCi). If they did, it would most likely defray enough of the cost of his care to make a big difference in their lives.

I do not know how our friends will finance the cost of long-term care. In the Houston Chronicle article referenced above, it appears that Tim Lowe, the patient described, is on Medicaid. Under current regulations in the US, he was required to spend his wealth down to poverty level before qualifying for Medicaid assistance, and he can receive long-term care only in a facility that accepts Medicaid.

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?

Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)

November 19, 2010 by Honey Leave a Comment

I read an article with a positive spin on LTCi from Reuters yesterday titled “Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance” by Toddi Gutner, Reuters US Edition, Prism Money, November 18, 2010.

Here are my the comments on it:

Thanks for an article with a well-deserved positive slant on LTCi, even though there is inaccurate info in it. You have listened to advisors who insist on selling short/fat policies. $300/day or $9,000/month LTCi policies are not the correct match for everyone at all. As well, “Most companies have a 10-year pay period.” is absolutely false, especially in TX. These are not the most egregious faults of this article, however. This is simply evidence that Nick Erin is giving bad advice.

Here is an egregious statement: “In some cases, however, “people don’t really need the product,” says Erin. LTC insurance is for income protection and sometimes “Medicaid is a more viable option for people who don’t have an estate,” he says.

I ask:

Have you been in a Medicaid-paid nursing facility lately?
With today’s government finances, are you banking on having Medicaid survive in its current state? My policyholders and I are not. In fact I have sold a lot of LTC insurance to people with little or no estate who insist on doing everything possible to preserve their dignity, options and family structure by purchasing LTC insurance.

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Health Care Reform Could Hit Nursing Homes Hard

Nursing Homes Look Younger

Funny Video Explains Medicaid Paid Care

Best Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)

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