“Older Americans are relying too much on Social Security as a main source of income,” by Paul Davidson, USA Today “Many older Americans view Social Security as a financial workhorse for their golden years. Yet the program provides far less income than they think, partly because they tap the entitlement before reaching retirement age, a new survey shows. … Despite their reliance on Social Security, two-thirds of future retirees worry the program will run out of funding in their lifetime, the survey shows. That’s another big reason they tap benefits early, Ambrozy says.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“States approving bigger rate increases for long-term care policies,” by Greg Iacurci, InvestmentNews “While insurance companies have increased premiums with regularity over the past several years — often leaving policyholders to choose between paying the higher bill, lapsing their policies or receiving reduced benefits — it appears insurers have recently been getting approval for much larger rate increases than in the past.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Good news. Now if the government “social insurance” programs were preparing to meet their unfunded liabilities, we could cheer that too. But don’t hold your breath.
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“Federal government paying insurers billions more than necessary: Kaiser,” by Tami Luhby, CNN Politics “The Kaiser Family Foundation found that seniors who enroll in Medicare Advantage typically spent $1,250 less in the year before they switched to an insurer-run plan, compared to those who remained in the traditional program, according to the report that was published Tuesday. They also used fewer health services, even if they had medical issues such as asthma, breast or prostate cancer and diabetes, than their peers in traditional Medicare. This means that the federal government may be overestimating the expected costs of Medicare Advantage enrollees, who may
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“Five Ways to Help Protect Retirement Income,” Advisor Magazine “Consider long-term-care insurance: Insurers base the cost largely on age, so the earlier you purchase a policy, the lower the annual premiums, though the longer you’ll potentially be paying for them. It is also important to research the strength of the company you select, as well as investigate other potential options for funding LTC costs. … Read the entire article here.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): “Other potential options for funding LTC costs?” The other big one is Medicaid planning, which this article should have explicitly
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“Genworth Reports Higher Earnings,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Genworth Financial Inc. is posting stronger net earnings than it was a year ago, partly because of better results at its U.S. mortgage insurance unit, and partly because of better results at its long-term care insurance (LTCI) unit. … The company’s LTCI unit is reporting $42 million in net income on $1.1 billion in revenue, compared with a $27 million net loss on $1 billion in revenue. Net investment gains at the LTCI unit increased to $80 million, from $6 million. … Links to Genworth’s latest earnings release and financial supplement are available here.
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“Serving The Forgotten Middle: The Need For Financing And Innovation,” by Anne Tumlinson, Health Affairs Blog “In the ‘The Forgotten Middle: Many Middle-Income Seniors Will Have Insufficient Resources for Housing and Health Care,’ Caroline Pearson and coauthors share their analysis of the future financing gap for middle-income seniors — the gap between seniors housing options and the ability of future middle-class, high-need, older adults to afford them. They’ve identified a growing need for affordable supportive housing options for this group, especially as available family caregivers will decrease in relative terms. The authors present a number of good solutions. … They …
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“Better Care For People Dually Eligible For Medicare And Medicaid,” by Seema Verma, Health Affairs Blog “Twelve million Americans are simultaneously enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare, relying on the state and federal governments to separately administer different aspects of their health coverage. These dually eligible individuals experience high rates of chronic illness, with many having multiple chronic conditions and social risk factors. Forty-one percent of dually eligible individuals have at least one mental health diagnosis, and about half use long-term services and supports (LTSS). Medicare and Medicaid were originally created as distinct programs with different purposes and have operated as separate systems
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“Rise of Managed Medicaid Could Deepen Skilled Nursing Financial Woes,” by Maggie Flynn, Skilled Nursing News “Increasing numbers of states have begun exploring managed Medicaid programs as a means of achieving savings as their populations age. But unless officials provide crucial oversight, skilled nursing facilities could find themselves under even worse financial pressures.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): When state Medicaid programs use managed LTC to dodge responsibility for care quality and access by simply writing checks, it ends badly not just for the dependent welfare recipients but for the dwindling number of
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“Insurance Agents Bullish On Long-Term-Care Policies,” by Joyce Blay, Financial Advisor “Insurance agents are optimistic they will sell more long-term-care policies in 2019 than they did in 2018, according to a national survey conducted by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif. … The vast majority (79.2 percent) said they expected new policy sales in 2019 to be higher or at least equal to sales in 2018. Only 20.8 percent of respondents said they expected lower sales this year. An even greater majority (92.8 percent) of respondents said they expected sales of linked-benefit LTC policies to
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“Genworth Says It Needs $6 Billion in Additional LTCI Rate Hikes,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Executives from Genworth Financial Inc. said Wednesday that the company’s Genworth Life Insurance Company (GLIC) unit could see its solvency level deteriorate if state insurance regulators fail to approve $6 billion in additional long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increases.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): When will we see a similar announcement from the biggest (social) insurance carrier? To wit: “Executives from the U.S. Government said Social Security and Medicare solvency will collapse without massive payroll deduction increases.” Don’t hold
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