“COVID-19 pandemic encourages consumers to plan for long-term care: survey”

“COVID-19 pandemic encourages consumers to plan for long-term care: survey,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living   Quote: “The COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call to Americans about their mortality, inspiring three out of four adults to make changes for a better future — including saving to pay for future long-term care in the setting of their choice, according to a new Genworth Financial survey. Genworth’s COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment Survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 or more years from across the country looked at the effects of COVID-19 on Americans’ lives and what they think about long-term care and financial security.
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

LTC Issue Age Restriction Lifted in Select States

From the Desk of Marty Johnson As the stay-at-home orders begin to lift and local businesses start to reopen, we are happy to announce that Mutual of Omaha is also lifting some restrictions on LTC applications where the ability to obtain face-to-face interviews has improved. With this good news, beginning June 15, 2020, Mutual of Omaha will accept LTC applications for clients age 65 and over in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
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Categories: COVID-19, Industry News, Long-Term Care, and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

“COVID-19 pandemic encourages consumers to plan for long-term care: survey”

“COVID-19 pandemic encourages consumers to plan for long-term care: survey,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight’s Senior Living    Quote: “The COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call to Americans about their mortality, inspiring three out of four adults to make changes for a better future — including saving to pay for future long-term care in the setting of their choice, according to a new Genworth Financial survey. Genworth’s COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment Survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 or more years from across the country looked at the effects of COVID-19 on Americans’ lives and what they think about long-term care and financial security.
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

iPipeline e-App Browser Update

From the Desk of Tess Grace and Marty Johnson At Mutual of Omaha we want to ensure you have the best user experience when you submit your applications. We are continuously working with iPipeline and other vendors to improve the application functionality in regard to using mobile devices and various browsers. In the meantime we want to provide you with a few tips and workaround options should you run into any issues or receive an error message. Term Life Express and Living Promise e-Apps: For the time being, do not submit applications using Safari on Apple devices. We are currently
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Categories: COVID-19, Industry News, Long-Term Care, and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

“Four Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic May Affect Long-Term Care Insurance”

  “Four Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic May Affect Long-Term Care Insurance,” ElderLawAnswers Quote: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the elderly, particularly those in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. This has raised questions about how the virus has influenced the costs and provision of long-term care insurance, which covers care in facilities and sometimes at home as well. … There are lots of uncertainties regarding long-term care, insurance, and coronavirus. To read the full US News and World Report article about what we do know, click here.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

“Social Security trust funds could run out even faster due to the coronavirus pandemic”

  “Social Security trust funds could run out even faster due to the coronavirus pandemic,” by Lorie Konish, CNBC Quote: “Social Security’s trust funds could run out as much as four years earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Just how much the funds are affected will depend on how fast the U.S. economy recovers. Those planning for retirement may want to account for reduced benefits, just in case.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): The Social Security trust funds will run
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

“The Most Important Coronavirus Statistic: 42% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population”

  “The Most Important Coronavirus Statistic: 42% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population,” by Avik Roy, Forbes Quote: “Americans are vigorously debating the merits of continuing to lock down the U.S. economy to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A single statistic may hold the key to resolving this debate: the astounding share of deaths occurring in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 2.1 million Americans, representing 0.62% of the U.S. population, reside in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. … According to an analysis that Gregg Girvan and I conducted for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, as of May 22, in
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

“Seniors housing municipal bonds under distress due to COVID-19 costs”

“Seniors housing municipal bonds under distress due to COVID-19 costs,” by Amy Novotney, McKnight’s Senior Living   Quote: “The coronavirus is pushing more continuing care retirement communities into financial upheaval and putting pressure on the municipal bonds that financed them, according to an article Wednesday in Bloomberg Law. Some communities, unable to accept new occupants amidst COVID-19 restrictions, are using stimulus loans to make payroll, drawing in debt service reserves to make interest payments and even asking bondholders to forgo interest payments for the next year, the article reports. Since the beginning of March, at least five retirement communities have missed a
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

“Long-Term Care Policy after Covid-19 — Solving the Nursing Home Crisis”

“Long-Term Care Policy after Covid-19 — Solving the Nursing Home Crisis,” by Rachel M. Werner, M.D., Ph.D., Allison K. Hoffman, J.D., and Norma B. Coe, Ph.D., New England Journal of Medicine   Quote: But this crisis in nursing homes is not a new problem. Long-term care in the United States has been marginalized for decades, leaving aging adults who can no longer care for themselves at home reliant on poorly funded and insufficiently monitored institutions. Although major regulatory policies, including the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, have attempted to address deficiencies in the quality of care, Covid-19 has highlighted the
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Categories: Clippings, COVID-19, Industry News, and Long-Term Care.

UPDATE: Grace period extended through July 1 for premium payments

UPDATE: Grace period extended through July 1 for premium payments At OneAmerica, we continue to monitor the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities and our life insurance policyowners. We understand that some policyowners may currently be struggling to pay their premiums on time. To meet this immediate need, OneAmerica has again automatically extended the grace period on all individual life insurance coverage through July 1, 2020. After July 1, 2020, OneAmerica will consider extended grace periods on a state-by-state basis.   What does this mean? Effective immediately, OneAmerica will automatically extend the grace period on all individual
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Categories: COVID-19, Industry News, Linked Benefit/Hybrids, and OneAmerica.