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Dear Abby Reader Describes Situation Without Long-term Care Insurance

September 16, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

Quoted directly from today’s (September 12, 2011) Dear Abby column:

“Dear Abby:

My longtime friend Jim and a stroke several years ago. His wife was struggling to keep him at home while working, taking care of the house, cooking and doing other endless chores. She found it difficult even to get out of the house for a haircut. She confided to me the hurt she felt when friends never followed through on their general offers of assistance.

Our discussion led to the formation of the FOJ (Friends of Jim’s) Club. Everyone in our “elite” group commits to spending two hours a month with Jim. The time slots we fill are recorded in our FOJ calendar. This time provides a needed respite for Jim’s wife and an opportunity to Jim to interact with others and get out of the house. Because the time commitment is for a defined— but not overly long—period of time, people are more willing and able to make a commitment they know they can keep.

Friend of Jim’s in Champaign, IL”

Honey’s comments: LTCQueen readers who do NOT own LTCi (long-term care insurance), please do everything within your power to imagine how different the scenario above would be if Jim had purchased LTCi.

My guess is that although Jim’s wife is getting some respite from friends, it is still not enough respite to spare her the additional mental, physical and financial stress being his full-time caregiver causes.

If Jim owned LTCi, chances are his policy would pay for home health care and he’d be on collecting from it right now. His policy would also be in “waiver of premium” (requiring no premium payments). I have no way of knowing how much home health care his LTCi would pay for, but chances are that whatever additional, paid home health care it paid for would go far to alleviate his wife’s stress and the resentment this reader describes.

LTCi ownership is all about having dignity, options, choices for not only the person needing care, but just as importantly, for the loved ones surrounding them.

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.”

3in4needmore.com is on The Road

July 29, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

The 3in4NeedMore campaign is in high gear and it’s exciting!

Celebrity spokesperson the 71 year old Dr. Marion, a geriatric care manager is on a 9-week tour of the country in a 1967 converted Greyhound bus. At each stop, she alerts Americans to the need for each one of us to do responsible long-term term care planning. Her advice is, “it’s never too soon to start planning for long-term care needs and costs.” She is eloquent and passionate about the cause. She is infinitely credible.

Here’s a wonderful video describing Dr. Marion’s third week on the road. It’s about 10 mintues. It’s visually fun to watch. If you don’t have time for the visuals, scan to the talking parts, which have great content.

Click here for a link to Dr. Marion’s blog.

I have met Dr. Marion, who has a PhD in geriatric care management. She is eloquent and looks like everyone’s grandmother. She is infinitely credible.

I so hope Americans take her message to heart since not nearly enough of us own long-term care insurance (LTCi). When the Baby Boomers start approaching their 80’s and a great number of us need the care that LTCi pays for, those without LTCi will have few choices and options.

UK on Collision Course with Long-term Care (LTC) Costs

July 7, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

A newly released report by the Alzheimer’s Society (The Dementia Tax Report 2011. Alzheimer’s Society, Devon House, 58 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1LB) minces no words describing the collision course between the UK economy and its growing long-term care needs.

Although the report studied the British, the many similarities between our two countries and cultures make the study relevant here.

The study found that only 3% of those with dementia own long-term care insurance (LTCi). The LTCi industry has existed in Britain for quite some time, but it is not as fully evolved as the LTCi industry in the US, where about 10% of us own LTCi, as my blog on the new Urban Institute study confirms.

The Alzheimer’s Society study (p. 3) states that “Despite the hard work of many care staff and care providers there are many thousands of people who cannot access the quality care and support that they need to have a good quality of life. Latest reports from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Age UK and others show that the system is not simply in need of repair but is fundamentally broken.

There are currently 750,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this number will grow to over 1 million by 2021. Two thirds of people living in care homes and one quarter of people in hospitals are people with dementia.”

Yow!

Interestingly, but not really surprising, the survey asked British respondents why they did not own LTCi. They gave the same excuses we Americans do: they didn’t know about it, they didn’t expect to need care, and LTCi is too expensive. In my March 28, 2011 blog I reported similar results of Prudential’s recent study.

Of course, LTCi is not too expensive. “LTCi is too expensive” is simply an excuse people give to avoid having a conversation about responsible long-term care planning. Here’s the simple math. Say your premiums are $2,000/year. Say you need to collect from your LTCi in 20 years (pick any number and the math. is the same). From your $40,000 investment, you will collect over $60,000 (in today’s dollars) from your LTCi policy when you need care for ONLY ONE YEAR. According the US Department of Health and Human Services, the odds of needing some type of long-term care at age 65 are at least 70%.

If you don’t yet own LTCi, please take heed of these warnings and act responsibly – NOW!

Request a Free, No-Obligation LTCi Quote

Dear Abby Reader Describes Situation Without Long-term Care Insurance

Is Warehoused Long-Term Care Imminent?

Entitlement Bandits Rob Medicaid/Medicare

3in4needmore.com is on The Road

UK on Collision Course with Long-term Care (LTC) Costs

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