“LTCI Policyholders Should Try to Put Up With Rate Hikes: Jesse Slome,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Long-term care insurance (LTCI) policyholders who can afford to pay higher premiums should probably take a deep breath when the premiums go up and keep their current LTCI coverage in place. LTCI policyholders who can’t afford to pay the increased premiums should try to keep as much of the coverage in place as possible, by accepting one of the premium increase alternatives the issuer offers, or by calling up and ask if the insurer will consider allowing some other arrangement. Jesse Slome, the director
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“Medicaid’s Dark Secret,” by Rachel Corbett, The Atlantic “‘It’s Medicaid, a low-income program, that has by default turned into our long-term-care system, and that is absolutely unsustainable,’ Matt Salo, the executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, told me. Defenders of estate recovery see it both as a way to control the high costs of long-term care and as a necessary check on those who could pay for such care but would rather the government foot the bill. (Nursing homes cost $89,000 a year, on average, for a semiprivate room.) Medicaid, Salo told me, is already struggling to
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“Industry will need to get creative to address middle market needs, groups suggest at NIC meeting,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Creating tax incentives, separating services from housing, repurposing existing facilities such as malls, partnering with health systems or other third parties, opening up residency to other groups, emphasizing wellness in programming. Those were some of the ideas that five ‘hackathon’ teams of industry experts came up with during a session at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Fall Conference to help the industry serve middle-income older adults in the coming years.” LTC Comment (from
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“Brief bursts of intense exercise normalizes blood pressure in older adults,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News “Brief bursts of high-intensity exercise on a stationary bike has been found to bring blood pressure back to normal in older adults. Researchers say it may be time to rethink standard exercise advice for this age group. Participants in their 60s with diagnosed hypertension underwent sprint interval training twice a week: six-seconds of high-intensity cycling, broken by short periods of rest, for up to 12 minutes in duration.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): What doesn’t kill
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