In our effort to become a more customer-focused company, we have examined ways to improve the customer experience with the insurance purchase process. Effective March 1, 2017 we will be making a change to help reduce APS processing time in Underwriting for Long-Term Care applications. As the number of medical providers requiring special authorizations continues to increase, we must remain considerate in how we meet that need. In order to complete the underwriting process, receipt of this information in a timely fashion is beneficial to our customers, especially when we learn of the requirement after an initial contact to the
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“Tom Price says Medicare should remain ‘guarantee’,” by Jack Craver, BenefitsPRO
“‘The challenge that we have, as you well know and your viewers know, is that Medicare is, as some folks have said, going insolvent or going broke,’ [the DHHS Secretary] added. ‘So we believe strongly in the guarantee of Medicare and make certain that it’s a viable, financially secure program going forward so that seniors now and in the future know that it will be there for them.’” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Hopeful thoughts and “guarantees” won’t make Medicare’s trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities, IOU-laden “trust funds,” and rendezvous with insolvency
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Have You Seen GTL’s Short-Term HHC Insurance?
AVAILABLE NOW! The Best Short-Term Home Health Care (HHC) Insurance on the Market! Be the first to offer to your clients! 3 Short-Term HHC Benefit Options $150, $300 or $450 maximum daily benefit Great Value Added Riders HIP, Critical Accident, Dental/Vision, Ambulance Policyholder Access to Ask Mayo Clinic Nurseline and Critical Illness Support Great Cross-Selling Opportunity and Great for Clients Now Available in Alaska, Michigan, Montana & Wyoming! Watch GTL’s Webinar Recording Now: Available in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina,West Virginia & Wyoming — with more coming
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Good News | A New Way to Submit Your CareShield Business
New CareShield App-Fill – Let GoldenCare Key In Your Apps GoldenCare is pleased to announce the availability of a CareShield “Paper Application!” CareShield is a simple product, and we prefer to make simple solutions available to those agents most comfortable with pen & paper. We’ve made our CareShield App-Fill Process as easy as 1, 2, 3! Click Here to view the new CareShield Paper Application What is the niche market for CareShield? Check out how pricing on CareShield compares to more traditional LTCi premiums. Questions? Call GoldenCare at 800-842-7799 and speak with your Regional Director. Click Here to add the
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“Technology Comes Of Age In The LTC World,” by Patrick Connole, Provider
“Long term care and technology are becoming more comfortable partners in the drive to improve the lives of seniors and to create new economic efficiencies. But the form of this push for high-tech solutions is moving beyond just the latest advances in software for electronic health records (EHRs) and telemedicine to other specialized fields, like sensor technology. It is here, experts say, that real promise is being shown in advancing from relatively basic sensors that track heart rates and oxygen flows to more precise and in-depth health monitoring for seniors living independently and in skilled nursing care or assisted living
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“Insurance Commissioner Announces Court Approval of Liquidation of Penn Treaty and American Network Insurance Companies; Assures Policyholders Claims Will Be Paid by State Guaranty Funds Pursuant to State Law,” Pennsylvania Pressroom
“Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller today announced the Commonwealth Court approval of petitions to liquidate Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company and American Network Insurance Company, with policyholder claims to be paid through the state guaranty association system, subject to statutory limits and conditions. . . . Commissioner Miller said the two companies have approximately 76,000 policyholders nationwide, with 9,000 residing in Pennsylvania. More than 98 percent of Penn Treaty and American Network’s policies are long term care insurance. . . . ‘Policyholder claims will continue to be covered by the state guaranty association system pursuant to law, and policy claims
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“How Alzheimer’s Defined a Family,” by Clare Ansberry, Wall Street Journal
“Karla DeMoe Hornstein is the only one of the six DeMoe children of Tioga, a small oil town in western North Dakota, without a mutated gene for early onset of Alzheimer’s. “That distinction has left Karla, 58, essentially the guardian of an extended family in which each member has a 50% chance of inheriting a genetic mutation that leads to early Alzheimer’s. It claimed their grandmother, their father, an aunt and uncle. In the past few years, her brother died at 54 and sister at 56 of causes related to Alzheimer’s. Another brother lives in a nursing home and two
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“Most Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Are for Home Care,” ThinkAdvisor
“More than half of new long-term care insurance claims in 2016 were for people who received care in their homes, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. That’s a 3% increase from 2012.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): So why do the media keep referring to “nursing home insurance?” Most Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Are for Home Care #goldencareagent
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“A Simple Guide to Planning for a Loved One’s Long-Term Care,” by Mikey Rox, Kiplinger
“In the worst-case scenario, you don’t have the option of long-term care insurance. This can be a daunting prospect, but it’s not the end of the world. Salter suggests two solutions that will provide monthly income that can go toward the cost of care. The first is cash value for life insurance, which is essentially the cash amount offered to the policy owner by the issuing life carrier upon cancellation of the contract. The second is taking out a reverse mortgage on the elderly family member’s house.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): How
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“Hip Fracture’s Link to Early Death May Last Years,” by Alan Mozes, HealthDay
“Older people who suffer a hip fracture face a much higher risk of death soon after the injury, but the risk persists over the longer term, a large study indicates. Researchers found that the risk of death among people over 60 nearly tripled during the first year following a hip fracture. However, hip fractures were also still linked to a nearly twofold increased risk of dying eight years or more after the injury.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): A stark reminder of the danger of falls. Hip Fracture’s Link to Early Death May
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