“COVID-19’s Deadly Lesson: Time To Revamp Long-Term Care,” by Deborah Gastfreund Schuss, Health Affairs Quote: “Among the many painful lessons COVID-19 has inflicted is this: Our approach to caring for the vulnerable among us has failed, with nursing home residents disproportionately stricken. It’s time to abandon our deeply entrenched and outdated views of long-term care in favor of a disruptive model that invests more heavily in quality home and community services such as leading-edge adult day health programs, each with rigorous standards. This will require a shift in funding that traditionally has skewed toward large institutional settings with shared
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  “Medicare Part B premiums are rising in 2021 by more than double the Social Security COLA bump,” by Maurie Backman, USA Today Quote: “Rising health care costs are a major problem for seniors on a fixed income, and so any time Medicare premiums go up, it’s stressful for retirees. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that Medicare Part B premiums will be rising in 2021. The standard monthly Part B premium is currently $144.60, but come 2021, it will increase to $148.50. That $3.90 bump represents a 2.7% increase, which is more than double the most recent
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  “Medicare Part B Premium to Jump $3.90 a Month for 2021,” by Ginger Szala, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “Medicare Part B premiums in 2021 will increase of $3.90 a month, raising the monthly premium for Part B enrollees to $148.50 deducted from Social Security benefits, the Medicare & Medicare Services announced on Friday. The increase is lower than in 2020, which was a $9.10 increase, or 6.7%, while the 2020 cost of living adjustment was only 1.6%. Higher income individuals (those with $88,000 of income per year, married, and with a joint filing of over $176,000 income per year) are expected to see
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  “How To Plan For Nursing Home And Long-Term Care Costs,” by Michael Korsinsky, Lawyer.com Quote: “Join us for Impact Week: Long Term Care, November 10-12 from 12-3 pm eastern, daily. Recent events have led to a not-so-happy thought occurring to many Americans as they make their way through this uniquely challenging year. We are hearing words like; ‘sandwich generation impact,’ ‘income planning,’ ‘retirement impact,’ ‘rising health care costs,’ ‘technology transformation,’ ‘Hybrid, Combo, Linked,’ etc. As a result, every American seems to have a story to tell about the impact that extended or long-term care has had or is having on their family.
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  “How To Plan For Nursing Home And Long-Term Care Costs,” by Michael Korsinsky, Lawyer.com Quote: “How Do I Protect My Assets from Nursing Home Costs? This is where early planning is most beneficial. Protecting assets from nursing home costs can be done with an experienced attorney. There are various strategies a lawyer can employ to maximize the protection of assets. It is important to note that Medicaid has a five-year look-back provision. This means that the government can look back at assets that were transferred within a person’s estate for a five-year period before the Medicaid application. If the
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  “Long-Term Care Insurance: A Comprehensive Guide to Costs, Coverage, and Whether It’s Right for You,” by Paul Reynolds, Money Quote:   “Long-term care insurance isn’t an easy sell in the best of times. Who wants to be reminded that they might spend their final days in a nursing home? Now, with many care facilities ravaged by COVID-19, the reputation of institutional living has taken a hit, and buying insurance to help pay for it might be a low priority. But long-term care considerations should be part of any retirement plan. … If your savings are exhausted, continuing care will generally
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  “Medicare Advantage 2021 Spotlight: First Look,” by Medicare Advantage 2021 Spotlight: First Look,” Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, et al., Kaiser Family Foundation Quote:   “Over the last decade, Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has taken on a larger role in the Medicare program. In 2020, more than 24 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that are available for 2021 and key trends over time.”   LTC Comment:  The MA big picture for 2021.    
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  “LONG TERM CARE: Caught in the Middle: How Young Parents Can Plan for Long-term Care,” by Michael Aloi, Kiplingers Quote:   “Heather’s father had little money, living only on Social Security. Medicare does not cover long-term care for more than  100 days, and they couldn’t afford to pay someone themselves. Medicaid was the only option. After several months of back and forth with government officials, Tom and Heather eventually got her father approved for Medicaid. But this was only the start. In their search for his new home, they were soon disheartened to learn their choice of long-term care facilities
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Are You a Good Candidate for Long Term Care Insurance?,” “Are You a Good Candidate for Long Term Care Insurance?,” by Kaden Berrington, New York Pilot  Quote:    “Generally, you should consider long-term care insurance only if you have at least $75,000 in assets excluding your car and home, and an annual income of $35,000 per year at minimum (although this can vary by state) according to the United Seniors Health Cooperative.”   LTC Comment:  I hate to see this fallacy raise its ugly head again. The main reason to own LTC insurance is not to protect assets. It is rather
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“A Middle-Market Senior Care Solution,” by Bruce Stahl and Winona Berdine, Long-Term Care News   Quote:    “A debt-free retirement has been the ideal scenario for so long that older adults often overlook a valuable financial resource: their home. Collectively, homeowners age 62 and older have a record $6.5 trillion of ‘tappable’ equity, according to data analytics firm Black Knight. Individually, home equity accounts for more than a quarter to almost half of the median net worth of retirees, depending on age, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. … For instance, the money can be used for some laudable goals: to pay
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