“Profile of Older Americans,” Administration for Community Living Quote:  “The Profile of Older Americans is an annual summary of critical statistics related to the older population in the United States. Relying primarily on data offered by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Profile illustrates the shifting demographics of Americans age 65 and older. It includes key topic areas such as income, living arrangements, education, health, and caregiving. The 2020 Profile includes special sections on COVID-19 and mental health.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:  Click through for the latest Profile and links to each annual profile from
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“Medicare Advantage Dual Eligibles Have Better Access to Care,” by Kelsey Waddill, HealthPayerIntelligence Quote:  “Medicare Advantage dual eligibles reported better access to care and access to telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic than traditional Medicare beneficiaries did, a report from NORC at the University of Chicago found. … Dual eligibles who were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and also received coverage through Medicaid tended to be higher risk than beneficiaries who were enrolled in traditional Medicare: they were older, faced more chronic conditions, and were more likely to identify as part of the Black or Hispanic communities.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses,
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“Anne Tumlinson, CEO, ATI Advisory,”Aging Media Quote:  “If there was one thing I could change, either everybody would just have private insurance for this, or we would be in some kind of a social insurance model [to cover that] huge gap. That’s important, but it’s not enough. We also have to have this infra-structure because even [having] the money to pay for services is not enough, if you’re having to set up and manage basically a mini health and aging services system in your home all by yourself. We’re not going to be using those dollars very intelligently if we
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“Washington State Cares Fund Update,” NGL Quote:  “The state of Washington recently passed the Washington Cares Fund with the intention of creating a limited benefit for long term care services. W2 employees will be directly impacted through a new payroll tax that takes effect on January 1, 2022. The state has allowed for an opt-out provision for employees who can attest to having an LTCi policy in force prior to November 1, 2021. … We believe it’s very important to approach LTC planning in a responsible manner with the primary objective of protecting a family’s estate and legacy. It is
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“Semiprivate Nursing Home Room Cost Rises 9.2%: Mutual of Omaha,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor Quote:  “COVID-19 may have increased the average cost of some types of long-term care in the United States in 2020 and cut the cost of other types LTC care. Mutual of Omaha has given data supporting that assessment in a new cost-of-care report, based on data from LTCG. LTCI Partners, a long-term care insurance (LTCI) distributor, has posted a copy of the report on its website. The new survey report, based on figures collected in 2020, shows that cost trends for different types of LTC services varied
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“State Assisted Living Providers Billions Out of Pocket in COVID-19 Pandemic Losses,” Argentum Quote:  “New data released today underscore the dire predicament facing seniors and caregivers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Projecting through the second quarter of 2021, many of the largest 15 states for senior living will incur hundreds of millions of dollars to upwards of $2.4 billion in uncompensated losses due to the financial burdens imposed by the pandemic. The data was released by Argentum, the leading national association representing professionally managed senior living communities. While the federal government allocated money for provider relief in last year’s CARES Act, less than
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“How to opt out of coming payroll tax,” by Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center Quote: “If you want to opt out of a payroll tax that begins in January — assessed to fund a [Washington] state-run, one-size-fits-all, long-term-care-insurance fund that you might or might not benefit from (read more about the coming tax on our Center for Health Care blog) — here is what we know:” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Click through for the answers and all the red tape.         Subscribe to GoldenCare News  
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“Bracing For The Coming Long-term Care Tsunami,” by Jennifer Lang, Advisor Magazine Quote:  “What Are Your Funding Options? There are many, however your primary choice is between two options: self insure or purchase long-term-care insurance. Let’s go through each.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: If those were the two “primary” choices, we wouldn’t have a problem. Unfortunately, the real choice most people make is to ignore long-term care until they need it and then get Medicaid to pay. If making that choice, or failure to choose, resulted in “impoverishment” as everyone says, the word would
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