“Family Caregivers Confront Considerable Challenges,” by The Certification for Long-Term Care, Cision PR Newswire Quote: “Nearly all family caregivers say they are ‘always’ or ‘often’ providing emotional support (80%) to a loved one needing long-term care. That can levy a heavy toll on caregivers’ well-being and relationships in their lives. In our survey, burn out, lack of expertise and concerns about their ability to focus on their jobs were cited as the most important reasons why family caregivers sought paid home care. … Among the survey’s other findings: 33% of family caregivers find getting the emotional support they needone of their biggest
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“Study: 72% of middle-class seniors may not be able to afford assisted living by 2033,” Reverse Mortgage Daily Quote: “A new study released by NORC at the University of Chicago finds that nearly three-quarters of American seniors will be unable to afford assisted living programs by 2033, excluding home equity wealth from the equation. However, even when home equity is included, less than half of seniors will be able to afford such care.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: That leaves Medicaid or private LTC insurance. Which do you think is most likely
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“Single Seniors Are Struggling to Retire,” Advisor Magazine Quote: “Inflation and the current economic climate have put a financial strain on older Americans, and new data from American Advisors Group (AAG) shows that unmarried seniors are the most affected. To learn exactly why single seniors are struggling to afford their retirement years, AAG, the nation’s leader in home equity solutions for seniors, conducted the Modern Retirement Survey with over 1,500 participants ages 60-75. … To read the full results of AAG’s Modern Retirement Survey, visit here.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Two minds
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“Birth of LTCi: Fatal miscalculations spur decades of angst,” by John Hilton, InsuranceNewsNet Quote: “In fact, the assumptions stood on a quite reasonable foundation, Slome explained. But two things did not play out as insurance executives and actuaries expected: the changing dynamics of long-term care, and the lapse rates. Fast forward a few decades, and LTCi is a perplexing product landscape. The need for the product is overwhelming, yet, insurers are busier trying to maintain old blocks of business that are actuarially unsound. That means repeated rate requests in states across the country. It means reduced benefits. It means denying
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“Inflation drives long-term care costs even higher. Here’s how planning ahead can help families afford it,” by Stephanie Dhue and Sharon Epperson Quote: “High inflation will likely make the rising costs more difficult for many families to afford already expensive long-term care for ailing or elderly relatives. On average, long-term care costs $50,000 a year at home and $100,000 in a nursing home, according to Long Term Care Group. For a new policy with a $165,000 benefit, a healthy 55-year-old could pay $45,000 in premiums by the time they turn 85.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center
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“5 Reasons Affluent Clients Might Need Long-Term Care Insurance,” by Margie Barrie, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “Here’s a common question from financial planners: Should they be recommending long-term care insurance to high-net-worth clients, or should their clients self-fund long-term care risk? The decision to consider long-term care protection is often based on the value of the client’s assets. However, there are other risk factors that need to be considered, because those factors will affect the client’s portfolio and may have tax implications. In many situations, long-term care protection may provide a solution for portfolio risk management and legacy planning issues in the
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“Helping prospects navigate long-term care system an ‘enormous opportunity’ for senior living: report,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living Quote: “The creation of central doorways to existing long-term care services — including senior living, nursing home care, home-based care, transportation and meal services — is critical to supporting older adults and their families during decision-making and an “enormous opportunity” for senior living providers. That’s according to a report published Thursday by Nexus Insights titled ‘Where Am I, Where Do I Go: The Missing Entry Point to Long-Term Care Solutions for Older Adults and Their Caregivers.’”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“‘Red-hot inflation’ drives senior living asking rates to record high,” by Kathleen Steele Galvin, McKnight’s Senior Living Quote: “Senior living asking rates were driven to record highs in June compared with the previous year, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in response to ‘red-hot inflation,’ according to Omar Zahraoui, senior data analyst at the National Investment Centers for Senior Housing & Care. Asking rates rose across independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, he wrote in the September NIC Insider newsletter, ‘despite the market’s still relatively low occupancy levels in general.’ Independent living had the largest year-over-year increase at
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“Envisioning new financing models to mitigate the crisis in long-term care,” by MIT CoLab, MIT News Quote: “Current Mel King Fellows are focused on a broad and deep new vision for LTSS financing. The fellows have envisioned what’s possible on multiple levels by focusing on how to build worker-owned co-ops that support quality of care and quality jobs and are exploring how to build new LTSS financing programs that create a more equitable system that supports community wealth-building and addresses the care crisis in the sector.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Replace a
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“Almost half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries use Medicare Advantage, analysis shows,” by Willa Hart, BenefitsPRO Quote: “A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that increasing numbers of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. In fact, 48% of all eligible enrollees use Medicare Advantage, and that number is expected to rise to over 50% next year. Some 28.4 million people are currently insured by Medicare Advantage, an alternate option to original Medicare which has steadily grown in popularity since 2007, when only 19% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries were in Advantage plans.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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