“A Middle-Market Senior Care Solution,” by Bruce Stahl and Winona Berdine, Long-Term Care News   Quote:   “Would you like to have an insurance product in your company’s lineup that provides all of the following? • Reaches the middle market, • provides security to generations of family members, • satisfies real customer financial needs and provides them with peace of mind, • minimizes risk in the morbidity tail, • reduces asset and interest rate risk, and • reduces concerns about pandemic risk in facilities.”   LTC Comment: Well, yeah! Click through to read this intriguing proposal.  
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“Does Hard Work Help Preserve the Brain?,” by Cara Murez, HealthDay   Quote:  : “Physical activity is known to help prevent dementia and disease, but it’s possible that the kind you do makes a difference. A new study found that hard physical work not only doesn’t lower the risk of dementia, it increases the risk of developing the disease. Researchers found that people who do hard physical work have a 55 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those doing sedentary work.”   LTC Comment:   Let’s hear it for desk work!  
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“Integrity Expands in the Southwestern United States with the Addition of Western Asset Protection,” Integrity Marketing Group   Quote:  : “Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (‘Integrity’), the nation’s largest independent distributor of life and health insurance products today announced it has acquired Western Asset Protection, a family-owned Insurance Marketing Organization (‘IMO’) with an industry-leading focus on service and agent retention. As part of the acquisition, Western Asset Protection’s leadership team Mel Rose, Chairman, and Paul Rose, President, will both become owners in Integrity. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.”   LTC Comment:   Warm and hearty congratulations to Mel, Paul, and their
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“BREAKING: First Alzheimer’s commercial blood test to detect amyloid beta hits the market,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News   Quote: “A new blood test that detects the likelihood that a patient has Alzheimer’s brain plaques on Thursday became the first to hit the commercial market. The PrecivityAD test is performed using a small blood sample taken in a clinical setting which is then processed in the test developer’s lab. It detects the presence of amyloid beta biomarkers, helping to predict the likely results of a diagnostic brain scan, the company said in a statement.”   LTC Comment:     Whether you
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“Older Americans 2020: Key Indicators of Well-Being,” AgingStats.gov   Quote:  “This report provides the latest data on the 40 key indicators selected by the Forum to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families. It is divided into six subject areas: population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, health care, and environment. Download the Full 2020 Report (PDF)”   LTC Comment:    Generally a good source for aging stats, but this quote from page 52 is false: “In 2017, about 44 percent of long-term care facility costs for Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and over were covered by
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“2021 Tax Deductibility Limits,” by Jesse Slome, American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance   Quote: “The following are the new 2021 deductible limits per-individual (2020 in brackets): Attained Age Before Close of Taxable Year 2021     Limit    (2020) 40 or less                                                                            $450               ($430) More than 40 but not more than 50                  $850               ($810) More than 50 but not more than 60               $1,690           ($1,6,30) More than 60 but not more than 70               $4,520            ($4,350) More than 70                                                               $5,640            ($5,430)”   LTC Comment:    Thanks to Jesse Slome and the AALTCI for this latest annual
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“Report shows 51% growth for home-based services,” by Joe Jancserak,McKnight’s Senior Living   Quote: “Home-based services such as home health, home care, adult-day care, Continuing Care at Home programs and Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly continue to grow, according to the 17th Annual LeadingAge Ziegler (LZ) 200 Report. Approximately 51% of the not-for-profit senior living organizations listed on the 2020 LZ 200 offer some type of home and community-based service to non-residents, a 1% increase over 2019 data.”   LTC Comment:    Philanthropic and other private financing have done more for “rebalancing” than Medicaid has.    
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“How do you get the new Medicare Advantage benefits? It’s not easy,” by Walecia Konrad, MarketWatch   Quote: “If you’re tempted by the new benefits some Medicare Advantage plans are touting, the annual open enrollment season (Oct. 15 through Dec. 7) is the time to look. But finding a plan offering the benefits might be hard. … These new rules open the door to coverage for adult day care services, home-based palliative care, in-home support services, caregiver support, non-opioid pain management, memory fitness services, home and bathroom safety devices and modifications, transportation, meal delivery, pest control, over-the-counter health items, virtual
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“Retirement: Average Boomer’s savings would only last seven years, study finds,” by Dhara Singh, Yahoo!Money   Quote: “The average baby boomer’s savings will last only seven years in retirement, a new study found, unless they curb their spending during their golden years. Boomers on average have $920,400 saved for retirement, the Charles Schwab survey of 2,000 Americans aged 55 to 75 with at least $100,000 in investable assets found. But they expect to spend $135,100 per year to sustain their ideal lifestyle in retirement, meaning their savings would run out after seven years. … So how do they expect to stick
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“Long-Term Care Awareness Month Approaches Like an Avenging Angel,” by Allison Bell,ThinkAdvisor Quote: “The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) is trying to get agents, insurers and others interested in promoting long-term care (LTC) planning awareness — in a year when, for some Americans, LTC planning has made the difference between dying alone in an understaffed nursing home, and dying at home with at least some access to loved ones. AALTCI has posted a collection of National Long-Term Care Awareness Month materials here. The awareness campaigns take place in November.”   LTC Comment:    Alas, “LTC Awareness” has become “Who will
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