“Frail nursing home patients told to relocate as their Medi-Cal plans cut off payment,” by Jocelyn Wiener, California Healthline “Some of California’s most vulnerable nursing home residents, many of whom have nowhere else to go, are receiving letters from their health care plans saying they are no longer eligible for long-term care. In one notable example, three dozen nursing home residents in San Luis Obispo County were informed on the same day that their Medi-Cal managed care plan was cutting off payment for nursing home care, said Karen Jones, the county’s long-term care ombudsman.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses,
Read More

“Burned in 2008, Americans are refusing to tap their home equity,” by Gwen Everett and Shahien Nasiripour, Bloomberg “Fallout from the housing bubble appears to have had a lasting effect on consumers’ willingness to keep using their homes as an ATM. Just 4% of households had an open home equity line in 2016, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent comprehensive survey of households’ finances, a far cry from the 10% that annually borrowed against the equity in their homes during the 2000s.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Good news. Maybe there will
Read More

“The Next Generation of Long Term Care Insurance,” by Tammy Flanagan, Government Executive “Are you one of the many people who have thought about long term care insurance, but haven’t figured out if it’s worth the risk of rising costs in the future and the possibility that you might not use the benefits you paid for? If so, you’re not alone. … Now, there’s a new version of FLTCIP [Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program], known as FLTCIP 3.0, that provides a premium stabilization feature. That’s an adjustable amount computed as a percentage of the total premium paid for the
Read More

“Medicare Advantage 2020 Spotlight: First Look,” by Gretchen Jacobson, et al., Kaiser Family Foundation “Medicare Advantage plans have taken a large and growing role in the Medicare program over the past decade, with more than 22 million Medicare beneficiaries (34%) enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in 2019, a private plan alternative to the traditional Medicare program. This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that will be available for 2020, based on an analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Findings include:” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Click
Read More

“5 takeaways from Harvard’s ‘Housing America’s Older Adults 2019’ study,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released its ‘Housing America’s Older Adults 2019’ report on Wednesday. Here are five takeaways from the report: 1. The need for affordable housing, supportive services will increase. … 2. Moves will increase; services will be needed. … 3. Many older adults prefer larger buildings. … 4. Cost burdens lead to food, healthcare issues. … 5. Some areas are worse than others when it comes to housing cost burdens. Commenting on the publication, LeadingAge President and CEO Katie
Read More

“What Your Long Term Care Insurance Won’t Cover And How To Prepare For It,” by John E. Girouard, Forbes “Certainly, LTC insurance can be a wonderful thing, and thousands of American families would tell you truthfully that it’s been a lifesaver during their time of need. But in the last year, several of my clients have been disheartened to discover what their LTC policies don’t cover—and, consequently, what they hadn’t budgeted for. So, I’ve come here with a warning that while LTC policies can be excellent once you’re sick enough to need round-the-clock nursing care, they do nothing to cover you during
Read More