“The U.S. Returns to Top 10 in World Economic Freedom Index,” by Ian Vasquez, Foundation for Economic Education “According to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2018 Annual Report—co-published today in the United States by the Fraser Institute (Canada) and the Cato Institute—the United States has returned to the list of the top ten freest economies in the world after an absence of many years and a decline that began around the year 2000. The United States ranks 6th on the index. … Hong Kong and Singapore, as usual, occupy the top two positions. The next highest scoring nations are New
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“What’s the Dollar Cost of Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s?,” by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay “Almost $200,000 over the course of two years. That is the cost of the care that a family member typically gives a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. … For mothers who had memory loss but no difficulty preforming daily activities the researchers estimated the cost over two years at $163,000. The costs of caring for someone who had difficulty with daily activities was $167,000 over the same period. When memory problems were combined with difficulty with daily activities, however, the costs of caregiving actually
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“71% of affluent older adults would rather rely on family — and pay them — for LTC, survey finds,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “A new survey of wealthy seniors suggests that many of nursing homes’ potential residents would prefer to receive long-term care at home, and would be willing to pay their own family members for it. … About 56% of respondents said that they ‘would rather die’ than live in a nursing home, and 47% said they’re worried about becoming a burden to their families.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
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“28% of affluent 50+ adults expect to live in assisted living, survey finds,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Twenty-eight percent of affluent adults aged 50 or more years participating in a recent survey said they believe they are likely to receive long-term care at an assisted living community when they need it, although only 15% identified assisted living as their preferred location. … Respondents ranked assisted living higher than family members’ homes, adult day care and nursing homes as far as where they would prefer to receive care and where they believe they are likely to receive care.
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“Investing in Long-Term Care Now Can Help America Age Well,” AHIP “Let employees use cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements to buy LTC coverage. Allowing LTC coverage to be provided under a cafeteria plan would make it more affordable. Most employees would simply shift their cafeteria plan/FSA dollars from other pre-tax benefits to LTC coverage. That means it would have limited impact on the tax dollars received from employees.* Allow retirement plans to invest directly in LTC coverage. This improvement will allow Americans to treat their LTC coverage like any other retirement plan investment. The impact on seniors’ tax revenue
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“The Rising Value of Senior’s Homes,” by Seth Welborn, DS News “Seniors are sitting on huge piles of home equity, according to a report from the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). The NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI) found that in Q2 2018, the total housing wealth of homeowners aged 62 and older in the U.S. grew to $6.9 trillion, a $130 billion in senior home equity over Q1 2018.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Good news as homeowners will have to use this equity for LTC when the bottom falls out
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“Survey: 85% of adults want active adult and assisted living communities nearby,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Eighty-five percent of adults aged 50 or more years think it is important to have active adult communities, assisted living communities and communities with shared facilities and outdoor spaces where they live, according to a recent national poll. Twenty-seven percent of adults in that age group who participated in AARP’s 2018 Home and Community Preferences Survey said that having such communities nearby was ‘extremely important’ to them personally, 35% said it was ‘very important’ and 23% said it was ‘somewhat important.’
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“The Authentic Role an Insurer Can Play as ‘Personal-Risk Manager’,” by JJ Carroll, Advisor Magazine “A chronic epidemic of “non-communicable diseases” (NCDs) is sweeping the world in growing proportions.  NCDs include things like diabetes and heart disease, which are not “caught” but instead are created by factors that have a lot to do with diet and lifestyle. The fact that people’s choices are contributing to their own ill health makes the explosion in NCDs alarming – and yet likely the greatest opportunity for life and health insurers (and reinsurers!) … To succeed in this space, we do need to demonstrate a genuine
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It’s Now Harder for Veterans to Qualify for Long-Term Care Benefits,” ElderLawAnswers “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has finalized new rules that make it more difficult to qualify for long-term care benefits. The rules establish an asset limit, a look-back period, and asset transfer penalties for claimants applying for VA pension benefits that require a showing of financial need. The principal such benefit for those needing long-term care is Aid and Attendance.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Aid and Attendance is now welfare for long-term care, like Medicaid. Yet another reason veterans
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“Universal Life Insurance, a 1980s Sensation, Has Backfired,” by Leslie Scism, Wall Street Journal “Universal life was a sensation when it premiered, and for some years it worked as advertised. It included both insurance and a savings account that earns income to help pay future costs and keep the premium the same. That was when interest rates were in the high single digits or above. Today, rates are completing a decade at historically low levels, crimping the savings accounts. Meanwhile, the aging of the earliest customers into their 70s, 80s and even 90s has driven the yearly cost of insuring their
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