“Long-term care insurance: Buyer beware,” by Elliot Raphaelson, Chicago Tribune “Many insurance companies offering LTC policies have either gone out of business or discontinued selling the policies. Most of the companies that remain in the business have taken steps to increase premiums for both existing policyholders and new customers. … The bottom line is that anybody considering buying a standard LTC policy should understand that there is no guarantee that these premiums will be fixed. Prospective policyholders should determine the past history of the company regarding receiving approved premium increases.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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“Genworth Faces Deal Resistance in Delaware,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Genworth Financial Inc. says the Delaware Department of Insurance is one of the regulatory agencies slowing its efforts to sell itself to China Oceanwide Holdings Group Ltd. Genworth needs a large amount of cash to handle debts maturing in May. Because regulators are taking so long to approve the China Oceanwide deal, and delaying Genworth’s access to the cash infusion the deal would provide, Genworth will have to try to get secured debt financing, the company says.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Is
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“CDC data show how small, large assisted living communities differ,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Smaller assisted living communities, on average, have more residents who need assistance with activities of daily living, more residents with Alzheimer’s disease or depression, more residents who are Medicaid beneficiaries and younger residents compared with larger communities, according to a data brief published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Can you afford to stay out of that little board and care home across
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“American Independent Marketing Joins Integrity Marketing Group,” Digital Journal   “Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (‘Integrity’), one of the nation’s largest independent distributors of life and health insurance products, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of American Independent Marketing, Inc. (‘AIM’ or ‘the Company’), a national wholesaler of Long-Term Care and Medicare Supplement products. As part of the deal, AIM founder John Wane becomes an owner in Integrity. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Yakima, Washington, AIM is one of the largest marketing organizations in the Western United States with
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“Too Few People Bought What You Sell: Treasury Economist,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor   “In theory, many older people could cope with their lack of annuities, long-term care insurance and other retirement saving and insurance vehicles by taking out reverse mortgages, to tap their home equity. But, in the real world, only about 50,000 U.S. homeowners take out new reverse mortgages each year, Brown said. The result, he said, is that older, single Americans are doing poorly.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Simple solution: stop exempting up to $858,000 in home equity from long-term
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“Drinking alcohol can clear brain waste, study finds,” by Honor Whiteman, Medical News Today   “If you’re partial to a drink or two, you will love the results of a recent study; researchers have found that a ‘low’ intake of alcohol may help to cleanse the brain. Researchers shed light on how low levels of drinking might improve brain health. In a mouse study, scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in New York found that drinking the equivalent to around 2.5 alcoholic drinks per day could reduce brain inflammation.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center
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