“Are adult foster homes a good long-term care option?,” by Liz Seegert, PBS “Call them adult foster homes, board and care homes, residential homes, group or adult care homes. Regardless of the moniker, these small-setting, family-like environments blend neatly into local communities, and are a viable housing option for older adults who may need help with daily living basics, but not the clinical care or amenities of traditional assisted living facilities and nursing homes. … A mix of private pay and Medicaid — under what’s known as a home and community care waiver — pays for care in these homes.
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“3 ways to help employees understand the value of their HSAs,” by Timothy Hayden, Employee Benefit News “High-deductible health plans are on the rise as a growing number of employers turn to consumer-directed health plans to try to curb costs — the portion of employees enrolled in HDHPs rose from 26.3% in 2011 to 39.3% in 2016, according to the latest statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics. Employers that have gone the HDHP route typically offer a qualified plan that includes a health savings account to help pay for qualifying medical expenses tax-free. But there’s a great chance
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“New ways to estimate and fund long-term care costs,” by Mary Beth Franklin, InvestmentNews “Nothing strikes fear in the heart of retirees more than the three letters: LTC. The potentially crushing costs of long-term care in a nursing home, memory care unit or even at home — most of which are not covered by Medicare — can easily destroy a retirement plan. But the unpredictability of who will require costly care and the diminished availability of traditional long-term care insurance policies create a challenge for even the savviest financial advisers.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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“New Study Links MA Plans to Lower Levels of Hospital Visits,” by Patrick Connole, Provider “At a time a growing number of long term and post-acute care providers are either entering or considering entering the Medicare Advantage (MA) market on the risk side, a new report by consultants Avalere Health said their research shows MA beneficiaries spent less time seeking hospital care for certain conditions. The report said MA plan holders with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes experienced significantly fewer inpatient stays and emergency room visits relative to those in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“The ‘Big Bang’ of Alzheimer’s: Scientists ID genesis of disease,” ScienceDaily “Scientists have discovered a ‘Big Bang’ of Alzheimer’s disease — the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain. A study from UT Southwestern’s O’Donnell Brain Institute provides novel insight into the shape-shifting nature of a tau molecule just before it begins sticking to itself to form larger aggregates. The revelation offers a new strategy to detect the devastating disease before it takes hold and has spawned an effort to develop treatments that stabilize tau proteins before they
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“With little saved, employers and aging employees share same fear: Can retirement happen?,” by Yasemin Sim Esmen, Employee Benefit Adviser “Less than two-thirds of workers are confident that they will retire at age 65, and nearly a third of those surveyed plan to continue working in retirement, according to a Transamerica Center for Retirement survey. Sixty-two percent of baby boomers, the group closest to retirement, believe they can comfortably retire. Confidence is lowest among Generation X, who have been hit during the Great Recession and are starting to turn 50, which leaves them a limited amount of time to save.
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“The 2018 Medicare Trustees Report: Fiscal and Policy Challenges,” by Joseph Antos and Robert E. Moffit, AEI Economic Perspectives “Medicare’s financial outlook has deteriorated in the past year, according to the latest annual report by the program’s trustees. The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2026, three years earlier than estimated in last year’s report. That understates the policy challenge. Every year, the program relies more on general revenues to cover its costs. In total, Medicare will receive $324 billion in general revenues this year. That will more than double by 2026. Prompt action is
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“The Infamous Medicaid Look Back Rule… Why Does it Matter and What Does it Mean?,” by Casey Sauerwine, Marshall, Parker & Weber LLC “Engaging in trust planning or gifting more than five years before applying for Medicaid can be an effective strategy to protect assets from nursing home costs.  Gifting ahead of time can reduce the amount of available assets an individual will have at the time a Medicaid application is completed.  It is important to talk about trust planning and gifting with your elder law attorney if you are considering going down one of these paths.” LTC Comment (from
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