“Why High Interest Rates Are Good News for Long-Term Care Insurance,” by Pete Grieve, Money “When you purchase long-term care insurance, it should offer peace of mind knowing you’re covered as you age — but all too often Americans have opened policies only to have their premiums later rise to unaffordable levels. Now, there’s finally some hope that the market has entered a period of stability, thanks in part to today’s high interest rates. Bonds are the primary investments for many long-term care insurance investment portfolios. For years, low interest rates for bonds resulted in low returns, ultimately hurting insurers’ bottom
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“The Affordability of Long-Term Care and Support Services: Findings from a KFF Survey,” by Liz Hamel and Alex Montero, Kaiser Family Foundation “Millions of older adults in the U.S., as well as some younger people with disabilities, require assistance with activities of daily living that may be provided in residential facilities like nursing homes or assisted living facilities, or in their homes or other settings by paid or unpaid caregivers. It is estimated that 5.8 million people used paid long-term services and supports (LTSS) in 2020, while another 1.9 million used LTSS in institutional settings, according to CBO estimates1. Despite
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“12 Ways Long-Term Care Risk Eats Your AUM,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Whether you’re trying to sell retirement planning services, stocks, mutual funds or annuities, long-term care costs hover over your book of business like a hungry, remorseless demon. Lincoln Financial found when it organized a survey of 1,003 U.S. adults last spring that just 35% of the participants with financial professionals had talked to those financial professionals about LTC planning. About 27% of those survey participants with financial professionals said the financial professionals had never even raised the issue.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Are American consumers
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“Worried About Long-Term Care Expenses? Let’s Do Something About It.,” by Christine Benz, Morningstar “Given that just 7 million people are covered by long-term-care insurance in the United States today, and there are more than 75 million over age 60, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, that’s a lot of people who are probably either worrying a little or a lot about what long-term-care expenses might mean for their retirement plans. For those self-funders, I like the idea of creating a dedicated long-term-care bucket that is separate from the spendable portfolio. Earmarking a portion of assets for long-term care can provide valuable peace
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“What is the Average Age and Disability Level of Older People Moving Into Long-Term Care?,” by Greg Glasgow, U. of Colorado School of Medicine “After crunching the numbers, Lam found that the mean age for people entering care facilities is 84, and their entry is typically preceded by months of severe disability and escalating caretaking at home, typically by unpaid family members. The average person moving into a nursing home is already severely disabled and receiving about 27 hours a week of care for at least one month, he found. Severe disability means they have a lot of difficulty or someone
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“Most Seniors Will Need Long-Term Care. Here’s How to Save for It,” Barron’s “Imagine you knew that 80% of the homes in your neighborhood would eventually suffer damage in a storm—but less than 4% of them had insurance that would protect them against a potentially catastrophic expense. This lopsided risk scenario is similar to how unprepared Americans are when it comes to long-term care. A 2021 report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that around 80% of 65-year-olds will need some measure of long-term care and support services in their later years. Yet only 3.1% of Americans have a long-term
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“Experts create new vision for senior living,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living “Unconstrained by the parameters of the traditional long-term care model, a group of experts has developed a new vision of eldercare that they say is customizable, person-centered and coordinated. At the Center for Innovation’s 2023 conference this summer, C-suite leaders were challenged to build the aging support system of their dreams, ignoring today’s assisted living, memory care, nursing home and other long-term care models. Their vision is laid out in a new white paper, ‘Beyond Nursing Homes.’”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Don’t bother. This is
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“Minnesota Tops New AARP Long-Term Care Scorecard; Other States Lag Behind,” by Bruce Horovitz, AARP   Policy Suggestions “At issue: The long-term care system has mostly failed to rebound even more than three years after COVID-19 began. This is the first LTSS Scorecard that crunches data — using a variety of publicly available sources, such as the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics — from the very height of the pandemic and beyond. Even as the cost of home care has greatly increased, the availability and quality of direct care
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“Long-term-care planning using trusts,” by Dave Strausfeld, Journal of Accountancy   Policy Suggestions “Some clients who want to plan for the use of Medicaid for long-term care may benefit from creating an irrevocable trust, according to Elizabeth Forspan, Esq., who gave a highly rated presentation at the AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2023 conference titled ‘Paying for Long Term Care: Using Trusts for Planning Around Shortfalls in LTC Resources.’ The basic idea behind such planning is this: If clients transfer assets to an irrevocable trust at least five years (in most states) before applying for Medicaid for long-term care, the Medicaid
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“California is leading the way in Medicaid abuse,” by Jon Coupal, The Orange County Register   Policy Suggestions “In approving California’s request to permanently dissolve asset verification for Medi-Cal, CMS is setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the nation. The situation demands scrutiny and a transparent debate. Rather than allowing this policy shift to unfold in the shadows, a public debate should be robust and inclusive. This is a decision that affects not only those in need of healthcare assistance but also every taxpayer who bears the financial burden of such expansion, including future generations.”   LTC Comment,
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