“Aging In Place: The New American Dream,” by Larry Nisenson, Advisor Magazine “Aging in place is the new American dream. The older generations have spoken, with more than three-quarters (77%) of adults 50 and older saying they want to stay in their homes as they age. However, successfully living at home requires careful consideration and forethought, particularly as it relates to financial preparedness. Consequently, this dream can become a nightmare for millions of Americans who are woefully ill-prepared when it comes to long-term care planning.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Larry Nisenson is the
Read More

“The seven most important questions about Medicaid,” by Kate Silburn, My Prime Time News “I recommend to my clients that they start Medicaid planning when they’re still in good health and not in imminent need of long-term care. The five-year lookback period makes this particularly important. This can be as young as in their 60s. As part of the planning, I can put in place vehicles for asset protection such as trusts so that this money is exempt from counting toward your Medicaid limit. … You can apply for Medicaid independently. If you want more support with this complex application, an
Read More

“Americans Reducing Retirement Savings And Taking On Debt Due To Inflation,” Advisor Magazine “Ongoing inflation has set back Americans’ ability to prepare for their financial future by causing them to reduce savings, take on debt and withdraw from retirement accounts, according to the 2024 Q1 Quarterly Market Perceptions Study* from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). Americans are more focused on their present finances than setting themselves up for the future. About two in three (67%) say they are more concerned about paying bills than about their financial future. Millennials (76%) are more likely than Gen Xers (64%)
Read More

“Rates for nursing homes, in-home care down: report,” by Kathleen Steele Gaivin, McKnights Senior Living “Movement of rates for long-term care is mixed, with assisted living and home health aide rates up but rates for in-home nursing visits and nursing homes declined year over year, according to a new report from long-term care insurer Illumifin. The insurance company’s 10th annual Cost of Care study and analysis, released Wednesday, includes national, state and regional long-term care cost data among various settings. A companion website, What Care Costs, includes interactive maps and projection tools to sort, rank and evaluate average costs of long-term care around
Read More

“State is gathering stories about long-term care,” by Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center “Again, raising awareness is fine. Trying to create an affinity for a state program by painting people’s past hardships as something WA Cares could have alleviated is another. That is what the state has been doing for more than a year now, failing to recognize that many other ways to save for or invest in possible long-term-care needs exist, that many people have more than they’ll need for long-term care someday and that not everyone will qualify for the inadequate $36,500 lifetime benefit for state-approved needs and caregivers. Personal stories used in the
Read More

“Why the New Old Age Could Be Different,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Company staffers heard about efforts to fight dementia and frailty last week in San Diego, at the latest annual ILTCI Conference. Teams from organization’s like Assured Allies, The Helper Bees and WellSaid.ai briefed attendees on the latest analytical strategies, classes and coaching programs. … Insurers are hoping new drugs and intervention programs will help them manage the wave of care claims that will roll in after 2031, just as they used wars against tuberculosis and cigarettes to reduce life and health claims.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President,
Read More

“It’s Late, You’re Tired, and All You See Are No Vacancy Signs,” by Romeo Raabe, ThinkAdvisor “Medicaid pays for nursing home care for the indigent. Most nursing home homes cannot break even on what Medicaid pays for a bed. Beds that lose money may go away.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Read this article! It’s one of the clearest explanations I’ve seen of how Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security combine to cripple the long-term care marketplace.   Subscribe to GoldenCare News  
Read More

“Private equity sets sights on home care, hospice, new report finds,” by Adam Healy, McKnights Home Care “The home care segment increasingly has become an attractive target for private equity buyers, particularly personal care and hospice, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit financial watchdog organization. … Personal care is a likely target of upcoming PE activity, according to the report. The field is less regulated than medical practices, and generally has lower operational costs due to being dominated by private pay rather than insurance payers. And as the population of older adults in the United States grows,
Read More

“Older adults’ net worth surges following pandemic,” by Kathleen Steele Gaivin, McKnights Senior Living “Home and stock prices have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a $91,000 median increase in net worth between 2019 and 2022 for households headed by someone aged 65 or more years. That’s according to Bloomberg, which cited research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that used data from the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Trillions of dollars are lying fallow in the U.S. economy that could go to fund better access to higher quality
Read More

“Long-term care rates up 1 to 10 percent: survey,” by Kathleen Steele Gaivin, McKnights Senior Living “Year-over-year rate increases in long-term care ranged from 1% to 10% across setting types, according to the results of Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2023, published Tuesday. …The average national rate for a private nursing home room inched up 4.9% to $116,800 a year, which equates to $9,733 per month or $320 per day, in 2023. The rate for a semi-private room rose 4.4% to $104,025 annually, which equals $8,669 per month or $285 per day. The average hourly rate for home health aide services
Read More