“The Benefits of Working Longer,” by Sandra Block, Kiplinger Quote:  “If you’re in your fifties or sixties and in good health, it’s difficult to predict whether you’ll need long-term care, but earmarking some of your income from a job for long-term-care insurance or a fund designated for long-term care will give you peace of mind, Baxley says. And working longer could not only help cover the cost of long-term care but also reduce the risk that you’ll need it in the first place. A long-term study of civil servants in the United Kingdom found that verbal memory, which declines naturally with
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“A Majority Of U.S. Consumers Lack Confidence In Stock Investments,” Advisor Magazine Quote:  “A majority of U.S. consumers —regardless of income level—say they are worried that they will not have enough money in retirement to maintain their desired lifestyle. Moreover, despite this widespread concern, some 59% say they have real trepidation about investing their money in the stock market, according to new research published by Realized, a technology-enabled platform that provides investment property wealth management. … A majority (62%) of respondents say they prefer to invest in tangible assets, such as investment properties, rather than traditional investments like the stock
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“Legislature delivers Washingtonians wins, losses and important health-care legislation to unwrap,” by Elizabeth Hovde, The Washington Policy Center Quote:  “The Legislature adjourned Sunday after an active session for health care. The most important takeaway today is that a new payroll tax arrives in January and will take 58 cents of every $100 a worker makes to fund a state-run, socialist-style, long-term care program lawmakers passed in 2019. Rules are still in the works, and definitions and directions are not clearly laid out, causing some confusion, but what is clear is that a bill passed this legislative session further limiting the time Washingtonians have
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“Why Would A 50-Year-Old Want To Join Medicare?,” by John C. Goodman, Forbes Quote:  “Medicare is lousy insurance. Anyone who leaves an employer plan to join Medicare will immediately become aware of some stark differences. To begin with, Medicare doesn’t have any cap on catastrophic costs for the patient – something all private insurance is required to have. If a Medicare enrollee stays in a hospital long enough, eventually she will have to pay 100 percent of the bill, no matter how high the costs soar.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Read this column by
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“The LTSS Trust has a new name. Meet the WA Cares Fund!,” Aging and Long-Term Support Administration Quote:  “The Long-Term Services and Supports Trust program now has an official name – the WA Cares Fund! The WA Cares Fund will be administered jointly by the Department of Social and Health Services, the Employment Security Department, the Health Care Authority, and the Office of the State Actuary. The WA Cares Fund is a public long-term care insurance program that functions like Social Security – all workers contribute to the Fund and all who meet the program’s vesting requirements and need long-term
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“Retirement confidence resilient despite pandemic,” by Mary Beth Franklin, Investment News Quote:  “Despite a global pandemic, the majority of workers and retirees are more optimistic about their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement than before the Covid-19 outbreak began, according to the 2021 Retirement Confidence Survey released Thursday. … Despite the challenges of 2020, 8 in 10 retirees report that their overall lifestyle is as expected or better than expected. The results are virtually identical to those measured in January 2020 before the pandemic began.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: If it’s always darkest before dawn,
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“In-Home Care Providers Must Break Through Barriers to Handle More Long-Term Care Volume,” by Robert Holly, Home Health Care News Quote:  “There are several trends shaping senior care in the United States, with two of the biggest being continued Medicare Advantage (MA) growth and the steady shift of health care into the home. Yet if in-home care operators want to capitalize on those trends, they’ll have to break through traditional payment and operational barriers. That’s particularly true for home-based care entities looking to roll out new care models for patients who would have otherwise gone to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).”
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“Non-covered losses and steep rate increases: New report issues bleak outlook for provider insurance,” by Kimberly Marselas, McKnight’s LTC News Quote:  “The best positioned long-term and senior care providers can expect to see liability insurance rates climb by as much as 30% this year, while those with previous losses and poor venues will face even stiffer hikes, according to a marketplace update from Willis Towers Watson. The international brokerage firm’s spring survey of insurers found rates and plan structures continue to be impacted by both the pandemic and an exodus by many insurers away from the long-term care marketplace.” LTC
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“‘Moving fast and changing every minute’: COVID-19 brings increased policy attention to long-term care,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living Quote:  “The coronavirus pandemic has challenged the aging services industry to imagine the unimaginable, including increased attention from policymakers, according to Ruth Katz, LeadingAge senior vice president of public policy and advocacy. … Part of those discussions are on the HCBS Access Act, which seeks to mandate HCBS in Medicaid to create national minimum standards for HCBS, and the WISH Act, which creates a public-private partnership for long-term care financing that considers middle-income older adults.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses,
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