“COVID-19 and Long-Term Care: LTCI Insider,” by Margie Barrie, ThinkAdvisor   Quote: “I just completed a white paper that addresses the impact of COVID-19 on the long-term care continuum. To obtain this information, I surveyed numerous top people in the long-term care industry — people who have insider information. This article is an overview of what they shared.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: This is the “white paper” I referenced and recommended in two agent webinars in early January. Strongly recommended. Well done, Margie.    
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“An afternoon nap could improve your cognitive abilities, study says,” by Megan Marples, CNN  Quote: “Taking an afternoon snooze could keep your brain sharp, a new study has said. Adults ages 60 and older who took afternoon naps showed signs of better mental agility compared to those who didn’t nap, according to a study published in General Psychiatry earlier this week.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Naps are refreshing? Who knew?    
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“New York AG: Nursing Home COVID Deaths Undercounted by 50%, ‘Low Staffing Model Simply Snapped’,” by Alex Spanko, Skilled Nursing News Quote: “The attorney general of New York State on Thursday released a blistering report suggesting that COVID-19 deaths in the state’s nursing homes may have been undercounted by as much as 50%, while also describing an already insufficient staffing model collapsing under the pressure of the pandemic. … The report in particular called out for-profit facilities for maintaining low staffing levels prior to the pandemic, noting that 280 of the 401 for-profit facilities in the state had the lowest possible staffing
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“Group Sees Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Rising,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “Long-term care insurance (LTCI) providers paid $11.6 billion in benefits to 325,000 claimants in 2019. The American Association for Long-term Care Insurance (AALTCI) is reporting those figures in a new batch of LTCI market data. The total amount of LTCI benefits paid was 5.2% higher in 2020 than in 2019, and the number of claimants increased 4.8%, according to AALTCI. … The average amount of benefits paid per claimant increased to about $35,700, from about $35,500.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:
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“American Academy of Actuaries Examines COVID-19’s Potential Impacts on Long-Term Care Insurance,” by American Academy of Actuaries, Cision PR Newswire Quote: “A new issue brief from the American Academy of Actuaries applies actuarial expertise to provide an understanding of how COVID-19 could impact long-term care insurance (LTCI), including LTCI delivery, demand, and markets, as well as new public policy considerations. … COVID-19 could have other meaningful impacts on LTCI, including: Mortality and morbidity changes if they affect claim periods and/or claims incidence compared to what was previously expected. Changes in the demand/delivery for long-term care services such as the increased use of
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“Eating Nuts In Your Forties Could Cut Dementia Risk In Later Life, Study Finds,” by Natasha Preskey, Independent Quote: “Eating nuts from mid-life onwards could help stave off dementia as we age, a large-scale study has found. Researchers at the National University of Singapore followed almost 17,000 people from 1993 to 2016, assessing first their diets and, later, their cognitive function. People who began eating nuts in their 40s twice a week or more were more than a fifth less likely to have problems with memory when they were over 60, compared with those who ate nuts less than around once a month.” LTC
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“Promoting the sixth insurance program,” by Wang Qiao, ChinaDaily Quote: “China already has five social insurance programs: elderly care, healthcare, unemployment, work injury and maternity. The government runs the programs, with the individuals and employers paying premiums on a compulsory basis. Four years into the trial run, the long-term care insurance is likely to become the sixth program.” LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Interesting how most U.S. analysts want to handle long-term care in the same way as the Chinese Communist Party—with compulsory social insurance enforced by government. For more on LTC in China,
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  “Nearly half of Alzheimer’s cases are mild, supporting a focus on early intervention,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “Nearly half of the people with Alzheimer’s disease have a mild case of the disease at any given time, according to a new analysis of a global study. The findings highlight the need for early intervention and prevention, researchers say. … The takeaway? ‘The finding that half of the people living with Alzheimer’s dementia have mild disease underscores the need for research and interventions to slow decline or prevent progression of this burdensome disease,’ the researchers wrote.” LTC Comment,
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  “Poor Performance of Long-Term Care Product Persists,” by AM Best, Advisor Magazine Quote: “Loss ratios in the beleaguered U.S. long-term care (LTC) insurance market continue to climb for individual and group business, according to a new AM Best report. The Best’s Market Segment Report, ‘U.S. Long-Term Care Product Performance Pressures Continue,’ states that poor performance from inadequate pricing is a significant issue for LTC insurers, owing to low interest rates, lapse rates, improving mortality, rising morbidity and policyholder utilization assumptions.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: More woe for now as LTCI adjusts for
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  “IRS Reversal: Expenses Paid With PPP Loan Funds Are Now Tax-Deductible,” by Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department issued new guidance Wednesday ending the prohibition on ‘double dipping’ when it comes to expenses paid with funds from Paycheck Protection Program loans. The new guidance allows ‘tax deductions for the payments of eligible expenses when such payments would result (or be expected to result) in the forgiveness of a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program.’ Previous guidance said that business expenses like rent, mortgage, utilities and salaries — deductible under normal circumstances — could not be
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