“In-force LTC Rate Increases Continue, Some Lower Than Actuarially Justified,” by Jason Woleben, Advisor Magazine “Regulators continue to grant rate hikes for insurers’ legacy blocks of long-term care business, though in some instances the increases are significantly below what are actuarially justified. In total, regulators across 40 states approved 254 rate filings seeking premiums increases during the second quarter, according to information collected by S&P Global Market Intelligence.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Insurers share the pain of premium increases with policy holders. More evidence policy holders are still getting a good deal despite the
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“Long-Term Care Hospitals: A Case Study in Waste,” by Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, Neale Mahoney, National Bureau of Economic Research “There is substantial waste in U.S. healthcare, but little consensus on how to identify or combat it. We identify one specific source of waste: long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). These post-acute care facilities began as a regulatory carve-out for a few dozen specialty hospitals, but have expanded into an industry with over 400 hospitals and $5.4 billion in annual Medicare spending in 2014. We use the entry of LTCHs into local hospital markets and an event study design to estimate LTCHs’
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“The big difference between long-term care and long-term disability insurance,” by Liisa Granfors-Hunt, Employee Benefit News “The longer people live, the more likely they are to face illnesses that necessitate custodial care either at home, in an assisted-living facility, or in a nursing home. So it stands to reason that there’s a resurgence of interest in long-term care and long-term disability insurance. While the two types of coverage have similar names, they’re very different. As an employer, it’s important to understand the difference and educate employees on why they’d need each type of coverage. Here is a rundown.” LTC Comment
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“Autobiographical memory tested for early Alzheimer’s detection,” Science Daily “Testing how well people remember past events in their lives could help medical professionals make early predictions about who is at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Arizona.  Researchers administered an ‘autobiographical memory’ test to a group of 35 healthy adults, about half of whom carry the gene variant APOE e4 — a known genetic risk factor that nearly doubles the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. As a group, those with the genetic risk described memories with much less detail than those without
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