“Social Security COLA Estimate for 2022 Raised to 6.1%,” by Ginger Szala, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security benefits in 2022 — usually announced in October — could be 6.1%, the highest since 1983, based on Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index announcement, according to Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson of the Senior Citizens League, which estimated the 2022 COLA at 5.3% a month ago.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Whoopee! Don’t spend it all in one place. The June CPI increase was .9%, 10.8% annualized, so
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“CalPERS settles long-term care insurance lawsuit, agreeing to pay up to $2.7 billion,” by Wes  Venteicher, The Sacramento Bee Quote: “CalPERS has agreed to pay up to $2.7 billion to settle a lawsuit over big price hikes the retirement system imposed on long-term care policyholders eight years ago. The agreement, announced Tuesday in a joint news release, settles a class-action lawsuit policyholders filed in 2013. They filed the lawsuit after receiving notices that their premiums would rise 85% in two increases in 2015 and 2016. The $2.7 billion will be used to refund affected policyholders’ premiums and provide other benefits, according
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“Calculator predicts elders’ life expectancy, needs for palliative care,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “A new online tool can help frail older adults and their clinicians calculate six-month life expectancy in order to better plan palliative care, according to real-world studies from Canada. Medical researchers from the University of Ottawa developed the Risk Evaluation for Support: Predictions for Elder-life in the Community Tool, or RESPECT, to understand the changing care needs of older adults as they age. In pilot studies in Ontario, users were guided through the tool’s two-to-three minute questionnaire about health and the ability for self
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“Covid raises awareness, concerns about Social Security,” by Mary Beth Franklin, InvestmentNews Quote: “More than 70% of American adults worry about the Social Security program running out of money during their lifetime, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute’s eighth annual Social Security Consumer Survey released Wednesday. The Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to this pessimistic outlook. Nearly six in 10 Americans (59%) say they worry more now than they did before about Social Security running out of money, according to the online survey of more than 1,900 adults aged 25 and older. Nearly one in five (19%) say the pandemic has affected their
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“Jumpstarting the Debate Over Public Long-Term Care Insurance,” by Howard Gleckman, Forbes Quote: “Rep Tom Suozzi (D-NY) has introduced a bill to create a public, catastrophic, long-term care insurance program [the WISH ACT]. The monthly cash benefit, initially about $3,600 and indexed for inflation, would be funded with a modest increase in the payroll tax of 0.3 percent for workers and 0.3 percent for employers, or roughly $300-a-year for a median wage worker. The payroll tax revenue would be paid into a trust fund, separate from the federal general fund. Importantly, trustees would be allowed to invest contributions in “conservative” marketable securities.
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“Where Long-Term Care Reform Goes Now,” by Howard Gleckman, Forbes Quote: “While most focus will be on the Medicaid HCBS expansion and family leave, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is about to introduce a bill to create a public, catastrophic long-term care insurance program. It is likely to be similar to a 2018 measure proposed by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and a 2016 proposal by the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative. … We remain a long way from major long-term care reform this year. But don’t rule it out yet.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“Only 25 percent of operators believe they’ll survive financially through 2021,” by Danielle Brown, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “Just a quarter of long-term care operators are confident they can last just a year or longer due to the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living. … The top three costs facing facilities are additional pay for staff, hiring additional employees and personal protective equipment, according to the findings. Additionally, 84% of respondents reported they’re also losing revenue due to fewer post-acute patients coming from hospitals; 83% cited
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“Why Long-Term Care Cost Reports Are Often Misleading,” by Romeo Raabe, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “‘Median cost’ means half of the costs will be below the median and half will be above. The median auto accident is $7,500, how much liability insurance do you carry? Thus, if the median cost of a nursing home is $8,821 per month, according to one survey, this means there may be some charging $6,450 per month and some charging $11,192 per month. This does not even begin to address the different needs of various residents. … I tell [my clients] about the median nursing home costs,
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“LTCG’s Annual Cost of Care Report Reveals How the Global Pandemic and Other Industry Trends Impacted Long Term Care Costs,” LTCG, Business Wire Quote: “The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on senior care recipients and care providers. This year’s data reflects a notable shift in claims from facilities to home-based care in 2020, which accelerated an existing preference by consumers to age at home. In the face of that trend, home care providers had to compete for scarce caregivers, while facilities battled higher costs amid lower occupancy. LTCG’s study found that the average hourly rate for a home health
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“Did you receive a ‘long-term care’ email from your employer? Here’s what it means to opt-in or opt-out,” by Mike Lewis, GeekWire Quote: “They arrived over the past month in the inboxes of Microsoft coders, Amazon copy editors, and Boeing engineers along with tens of thousands of other employees across Washington state: Emails from payroll departments or human resources telling staffers that they might have the option to opt-out of a new state payroll tax to fund long-term care. To which many employees responded: ‘What in the world…?’” … OK. So should I opt-in or out? Those are not the
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