“How Much Will Boomers, Millennials Get in Retirement?,” by Ginger Szala, ThinkAdvisor “The Urban Institute has released its most recent projections on what baby boomer retirees as well as Generation Xers and millennials will be receiving in Social Security and Medicare benefits, updated with the latest information based on income, prices, mortality and related factors. Overall, the average-income single boomer retiring in 2020 will receive about $500,000 in total benefits, while millennials who turn 65 around 2050 will receive roughly $1 million in total benefits, according to authors C. Eugene Steuerle and Caleb Quakenbush in their report, Social Security and
Read More

“Reimbursement limitations on home healthcare are being loosened,” by Shelby Livingston, Modern HealthCare “Home healthcare programs similar to Blue Shield’s are proliferating as health plans and at-risk providers look for ways to keep patients out of the hospital or from returning after being discharged. As healthcare costs squeeze patient wallets and company bottom lines, insurers have focused on the savings to be reaped by caring for patients at home. And by removing some benefit restrictions, Medicare is making it easier for those health plans to do so.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): More
Read More

“There’s No Magic Number for Self-Funding Long-Term Care,” by Christine Benz, Morningstar “I find that investors seek out a specific asset threshold to help determine whether they could self-fund long-term care costs rather than buying long-term care insurance. In my early days of focusing on retirement planning, $1.5 million was often asserted to be a “safe” asset threshold for paying long-term care costs out of pocket. More recently–no doubt in light of the fact that we’ve seen long-term care costs trend up more rapidly than the general inflation rate–that figure has crept up to $2.5 million.” LTC Comment (from Stephen
Read More

“Common Herpes Virus Could Cause 50 Percent of Alzheimer’s Disease Cases, Expert Says,” by Kashmira Gander, Newsweek “The herpes virus, which triggers cold sores, could be the cause of at least half of the cases of Alzheimer’s disease, a leading expert concluded after reviewing existing data on the neurodegenerative condition. Owing to the prevalence of herpes, as well as the alarming rates at which Alzheimer’s is being diagnosed (with the number of cases expected to hit 82 million in 2030, and 152 million in 2050) the association between the two is ripe for investigation.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
Read More

“Critical Illness Market Keeps Growing: Gen Re,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “U.S. sales of critical illness insurance climbed 37% in 2017, to $652 million, according to new insurer survey results from Gen Re. The Stamford, Connecticut-based reinsurer found that in-force premium revenue increased 45%, to $1.6 billion. Sales of coverage through group plans, and through individual policies purchased at the worksite rose 21%, to $554 million. Sales of individual critical illness insurance policies grew much more rapidly: to about $98 million in 2017, from $19 million in 2016.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
Read More

“This retirement expense has hit $100,000 annually — and it’s continuing to rise,” by Darla Mercado, CNBC “This retirement living expense has nowhere to go but up. The annual cost of a private room in a nursing home has cracked the six-figure mark, according to Genworth Financial. The national annual median cost of a private room in a nursing home is $100,375, the insurer found in its 2018 Cost of Care study. Overall, the rising cost of care has outpaced inflation. The Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers was 2.1 percent for the first half of 2018. The annual
Read More

“Aging Parents With Dementia? Beware Of Thieving Financial Advisors,” by Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes “The takeaway is this–if you have an aging loved one who has short term memory loss and invested assets in one or more accounts, it is time to raise the question of whether you can respectfully get in position to oversee the accounts. Please persist with every possible effort. Your protection could prevent even one unscrupulous financial professional from taking advantage because no one is watching.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Adult children, close relatives and friends are at least
Read More

“Starbucks Opens New Front in Staffing Wars: Senior Care Benefits,” by Robert Holly, Skilled Nursing News “Skilled nursing and senior housing operators often point to wage gains at retail chains as a major reason behind the industry’s persistent staffing woes. This week, one of the country’s largest foodservice employers unveiled another attractive perk that could lure workers away from long-term care: heavily subsidized senior care services for employees who juggle work and caregiving responsibilities.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Shame on Starbucks for offering LTC? Hardly, this is a typical example of the
Read More

“Top 25 cities for best and worst nursing homes listed,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “Technology company Family Assets released its rankings cities for nursing home residents by looking at user-generated reviews of facilities. … Based on that methodology, Family Assets crowned Evansville, IN, as the city with the best-rated nursing homes, with about 80% of reviews labeled as ‘good.’ Rounding out the top five are Topeka, KS; Bakersfield, CA; Colorado Springs, CO; and Glendale, CA, which all hovered around 80%. Meanwhile, on the negative side, Atlanta landed at the bottom, with nearly 60% of its reviews labeled as
Read More

“As Open Enrollment Begins, Record Medicare Advantage Growth Expected,” by Bruce Japsen, Forbes “A flood of new Medicare Advantage health plans are expected to divvy up a larger pool of seniors flocking to lower premiums, expanded benefits and additional choices for 2019. Large insurers like UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and Anthem are selling in new markets and additional counties when open enrollment starts Monday, Oct. 15th for coverage that begins in 2019. This is expected to increase the total number of seniors enrolled in privately-administered Medicare Advantage plans for 2019 to more than 22 million.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses,
Read More