“The Largest Individual LTCI Claim of 2018,” by Jesse R. Slome, ThinkAdvisor “Seven insurers told us about the largest claims they still had open as of Dec. 31, 2018. At each of those insurers, the largest open claim was for more than $1 million. At several, the largest open claim has surpassed the $2 million threshold. Most of the largest claims have been open for at least 11 years. The largest open claim of all has led to the payment of more than $2.6 million in benefits. The claim has been open for more than 15 years. When clients talk
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“THE NATION’S RETIREMENT SYSTEM: A Comprehensive Re-evaluation Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security,” Government Accountability Office “Fundamental changes over the past 40 years have led to various risks and challenges for the three main pillars supporting the U.S. retirement system. For example, current projections indicate that by 2034, the Old-Age and Survivors trust fund for Social Security’s retirement program—the first pillar—will only be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits, due in part to the aging of the population (see figure). Other federal government retirement-related programs also face financial uncertainty. For example, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which
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“The Medicare Plan Market Is Alive!,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Enrollment in all types of Medicare Advantage plans increased to 21 million in January, up 7.6% from the total for January 2018, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Enrollment in the core Medicare Advantage health maintenance plans increased 6.9%, to 13.5 million. A separate CMS database shows that enrollment in the traditional Medicare program, which CMS calls Original Medicare, increased to 38.8 million in December 2018, from 38.3 million in January 2018. Total Medicare enrollment increased to 60.4 million in December, from 59.4 million in January.” LTC Comment
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“How to keep nursing home costs from devouring your life savings,” by Lou Michael, Buffalo News “The state Health Department estimates the average annual cost of nursing home care in the Buffalo region at about $123,000, but it can be substantially more depending on the facility. Cappiello’s monthly checks to Elderwood at Lockport will add up to $144,000 by the end of this year. But he could have protected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nursing home. Though complex, existing laws provide people with a pathway to protect their assets, become legally poor and qualify for publicly funded Medicaid
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“A change is happening in Maine with wide-ranging effects: State is seeing more deaths than births,” by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe “But across the state, the rapid aging of Maine’s population — a trend known by some as the “silver tsunami” — has reached a crucial tipping point, many say. As baby boomers head into retirement, and many young people move away in search of opportunity, Maine is one of only two states, along with West Virginia, where deaths now outnumber births. That gulf is reshaping life here in myriad ways, from shrinking the workforce to intensifying the demand for
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“Secrets From the Medicare Advantage Producer Comp Spreadsheets,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Federal regulators have set tight rules for agent compensation at Medicare Advantage plans — but most of the issuers are interested enough in new business that they will pay some compensation to agents. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency in charge of the Medicare Advantage program, tells the tale in two spreadsheets it has posted in the agent broker compensation section on the Medicare managed care marketing section of its website. Issuers said they pay no commissions for some sales of 69% of the
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