“By 2060, a quarter of U.S. residents will be over age 65,” by Mike Schneider, Associated Press   Quote: “By 2060, almost a quarter of all U.S. residents will be over age 65, and life expectancy will reach an all-time high of 85 years, according to new reports the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): When life expectancy was 65, the government started Social Security and look what happened. The program is bankrupt just as the elderly population explodes. Now that life expectancy will be 85, the age at
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“Combining Life and Long-Term Care Insurance,” by Rebecca Lake, Yahoo! Finance   Quote: “The long-term care part of the policy pays out money to cover nursing care expenses if you need long-term care. You may need to be diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness for the rider to kick in, but once it does, your policy would pay for covered long-term care costs up to the policy limits. There may be limits on both the dollar amount paid out and how long benefits are paid, i.e. two years, three years or a different time frame.” LTC Comment (from Stephen
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“Long-Term Care Annuities: Pros and Cons,” by Rebecca Lake, Yahoo! Finance   Quote: “A long-term care annuity is a deferred annuity that includes a long-term care rider. A rider is essentially an add-on you can include when purchasing an annuity that offers extra features or benefits. You purchase the annuity with the long-term care rider and when you eventually need long-term care, you can begin receiving payments to help with those expenses. Payments can be made to you monthly or as a lump sum. Your annuity company can give you the money to use as needed or reimburse you after the fact
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“Feds Probing How Personal Medicare Info Gets to Marketers,” by The Associated Press, New York Times   Quote: “A government watchdog is launching a nationwide probe into how marketers may be getting seniors’ personal Medicare information aided by apparent misuse of a government system, officials said Friday. … The watchdog agency’s decision comes amid a wave of relentlessly efficient telemarketing scams targeting Medicare recipients and involving everything from back braces to DNA cheek swabs.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): One more Medicare thing to worry about.    
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“Seniors on Medicare Advantage less likely to have issues paying medical bills: CDC study,” by Robert King, Fierce Healthcare   Quote: “Seniors on traditional Medicare were more likely to be a part of a family that has problems paying medical bills compared to beneficiaries on Medicare Advantage (MA), a new study found. But beneficiaries on MA were also more likely to struggle with medical bills compared to those on private insurance coverage. The study, (PDF) released Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that overall the percentage of people in families that had a problem paying a
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