“Older adults’ net worth surges following pandemic”

“Older adults’ net worth surges following pandemic,” by Kathleen Steele Gaivin, McKnights Senior Living “Home and stock prices have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a $91,000 median increase in net worth between 2019 and 2022 for households headed by someone aged 65 or more years. That’s according to Bloomberg, which cited research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that used data from the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Trillions of dollars are lying fallow in the U.S. economy that could go to fund better access to higher quality
Read More

Categories: Clippings and Industry News.

“Long-term care rates up 1 to 10 percent: survey”

“Long-term care rates up 1 to 10 percent: survey,” by Kathleen Steele Gaivin, McKnights Senior Living “Year-over-year rate increases in long-term care ranged from 1% to 10% across setting types, according to the results of Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2023, published Tuesday. …The average national rate for a private nursing home room inched up 4.9% to $116,800 a year, which equates to $9,733 per month or $320 per day, in 2023. The rate for a semi-private room rose 4.4% to $104,025 annually, which equals $8,669 per month or $285 per day. The average hourly rate for home health aide services
Read More

Categories: Clippings and Industry News.

“Proposal would add Kentucky to mix of states trying to address long-term care financing”

“Proposal would add Kentucky to mix of states trying to address long-term care financing,” by Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnights Senior Living “Senior living provider groups are applauding Kentucky’s proactive approach to helping its residents pay for future long-term care needs with a proposal to form a task force to explore a statewide insurance program. … The task force would be charged with establishing a joint public-private system to make long-term care accessible. Any long-term care insurance program that was part of the system would require mandatory participation but offer an opt-out provision. … Fourteen states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois,
Read More

Categories: Clippings and Industry News.

“Genworth Releases Cost of Care Survey Results for 2023: Twenty Years of Tracking Long-Term Care Costs”

“Genworth Releases Cost of Care Survey Results for 2023: Twenty Years of Tracking Long-Term Care Costs,” Genworth “The cost of long-term care services increased across all provider types and increased more substantially for certain settings, according to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2023. The most substantial cost increases occurred in home health aide and homemaker services costs. Inflation and the shortage of skilled care workers are the core drivers of increases in the costs of care services.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Congratulation to Genworth for 20 years of being the go-to source
Read More

Categories: Clippings and Industry News.

Ethisphere Names Thrivent One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 13 Consecutive Years

Ethisphere Names Thrivent One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 13 Consecutive Years The recognition highlights Thrivent’s commitment to business integrity through robust ethics, compliance, and governance programs March 4, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – Thrivent, a Fortune 500 financial services organization, has received the 2024 World’s Most Ethical Companies honor from Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. Thrivent has now been recognized for 13 consecutive years and is one of only six honorees in the financial services industry this year. In 2024, 136 honorees were recognized spanning 20 countries and 44 industries.
Read More

Categories: Industry News, Long-Term Care, and Thrivent.

New Episodes Available on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild

Sixty years after its original debut, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom has been one of the most loved and respected wildlife programs in television history. During the Saturday “The More You Know” programming block, on NBC, you can find the next generation of wildlife enthusiasts that highlight species under threat of extinction in our modern world. “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild” showcases episodes that feature the work of caring and compassionate conservationists including scientists, wildlife experts and even members of the public; in a format that is easy to understand and can be enjoyed by the whole
Read More

Categories: Industry News and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

Your Clients Want to Stay at Home to Receive Care

Did you know that someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services in their future? Most people prefer to have their care in their own home rather than a facility. Mutual of Omaha’s Long Term Care product offers up to four different ways to help keep clients in their home for as long as possible. Help Your Clients Stay at Home Sales Idea.   If you have any questions, please contact Mutual of Omaha’s Sales Support at (800) 693-6083 or e-mail sales.support@mutualofomaha.com.   Your Clients Want to Stay at Home
Read More

Categories: Industry News, Long-Term Care, and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

The Next Steps After Submitting the Application

Preparation is the key to a successful health interview. You just completed a long-term care application. Before ending the conversation, make sure your clients know what happens next. Preparing clients for the underwriting process can go a long way toward ensuring their applications get issued. Why? An interviewer may mistakenly assume confused applicants have cognitive issues that make them uninsurable. When in reality, an applicant may simply be distracted or not fully prepared to answer questions about their health, their doctors and their medications. Mutual of Omaha has a handy leave-behind brochure you can use to walk your clients through
Read More

Categories: Industry News, Long-Term Care, and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

Medicare Solutions – Omaha Family of Companies

Medicare Supplement: Upcoming Rate Adjustments View upcoming rate adjustments for various states.   Available Premium Payment Options Refresh yourself on Mutual of Omaha’s payment and processing guidelines.   Upcoming Rate Adjustments View upcoming rate adjustments for various states.   Personalized URLs for Med Supp and Dental are now available You can now obtain a Personalized URL (PURL) to offer your clients access to a dedicated Med Supp or Dental Insurance e-Application.   Dental: Dental Pretreatment Estimates A couple of reminders when requesting a pretreatment estimate.   Prescription Drug Plans: Mutual of Omaha Rx Exits PDP Market Mutual of Omaha Rx
Read More

Categories: Industry News, Medicare Supp./Adv., and Mutual of Omaha (& Affiliates).

New application requirements are coming soon

Coming Soon: New Application Requirements Beginning April 1, 2024, you will be required to provide the Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for all new Health and Final Expense insurance applicants. This requirement will help streamline the application process by improving instant-decisioning and straight-through processing. SSNs and ITINs are a reliable and universal way to verify a person’s identity and will allow us to determine if someone already has coverage while reducing the number of duplicate accounts. We’ll also be able to properly identify household discount allocation for customers with multiple policies and verify coverage threshold.
Read More

Categories: Industry News, Short-Term Care, and Wellabe.