“Genworth Reports Higher Earnings,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Genworth Financial Inc. is posting stronger net earnings than it was a year ago, partly because of better results at its U.S. mortgage insurance unit, and partly because of better results at its long-term care insurance (LTCI) unit. … The company’s LTCI unit is reporting $42 million in net income on $1.1 billion in revenue, compared with a $27 million net loss on $1 billion in revenue. Net investment gains at the LTCI unit increased to $80 million, from $6 million. … Links to Genworth’s latest earnings release and financial supplement are available here.
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“Serving The Forgotten Middle: The Need For Financing And Innovation,” by Anne Tumlinson, Health Affairs Blog “In the ‘The Forgotten Middle: Many Middle-Income Seniors Will Have Insufficient Resources for Housing and Health Care,’ Caroline Pearson and coauthors share their analysis of the future financing gap for middle-income seniors — the gap between seniors housing options and the ability of future middle-class, high-need, older adults to afford them. They’ve identified a growing need for affordable supportive housing options for this group, especially as available family caregivers will decrease in relative terms. The authors present a number of good solutions. … They …
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“Better Care For People Dually Eligible For Medicare And Medicaid,” by Seema Verma, Health Affairs Blog “Twelve million Americans are simultaneously enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare, relying on the state and federal governments to separately administer different aspects of their health coverage. These dually eligible individuals experience high rates of chronic illness, with many having multiple chronic conditions and social risk factors. Forty-one percent of dually eligible individuals have at least one mental health diagnosis, and about half use long-term services and supports (LTSS). Medicare and Medicaid were originally created as distinct programs with different purposes and have operated as separate systems
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“Rise of Managed Medicaid Could Deepen Skilled Nursing Financial Woes,” by Maggie Flynn, Skilled Nursing News “Increasing numbers of states have begun exploring managed Medicaid programs as a means of achieving savings as their populations age. But unless officials provide crucial oversight, skilled nursing facilities could find themselves under even worse financial pressures.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): When state Medicaid programs use managed LTC to dodge responsibility for care quality and access by simply writing checks, it ends badly not just for the dependent welfare recipients but for the dwindling number of
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“Insurance Agents Bullish On Long-Term-Care Policies,” by Joyce Blay, Financial Advisor “Insurance agents are optimistic they will sell more long-term-care policies in 2019 than they did in 2018, according to a national survey conducted by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif. … The vast majority (79.2 percent) said they expected new policy sales in 2019 to be higher or at least equal to sales in 2018. Only 20.8 percent of respondents said they expected lower sales this year. An even greater majority (92.8 percent) of respondents said they expected sales of linked-benefit LTC policies to
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“Genworth Says It Needs $6 Billion in Additional LTCI Rate Hikes,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Executives from Genworth Financial Inc. said Wednesday that the company’s Genworth Life Insurance Company (GLIC) unit could see its solvency level deteriorate if state insurance regulators fail to approve $6 billion in additional long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increases.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): When will we see a similar announcement from the biggest (social) insurance carrier? To wit: “Executives from the U.S. Government said Social Security and Medicare solvency will collapse without massive payroll deduction increases.” Don’t hold
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