“U.S. Pays Billions for ‘Assisted Living,’ but What Does It Get?,” by Robert Pear, New York Times “Federal investigators say they have found huge gaps in the regulation of assisted living facilities, a shortfall that they say has potentially jeopardized the care of hundreds of thousands of people served by the booming industry. The federal government lacks even basic information about the quality of assisted living services provided to low-income people on Medicaid, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, says in a report to be issued on Sunday. … Assisted living was not part of the
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“CMS Tries to Flush ‘Sick Creep’ Out of Medicare Advantage Rates,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are trying to squeeze what they say is unjustified risk score inflation out of the Medicare Advantage program in 2019. CMS officials have included a 2.26% risk score “normalization” factor in their advance notice for the Medicare Advantage program bidding process for 2019.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): The article concludes: “But the addition of the risk score normalization factor could reduce the ‘expected average change in revenue’ to 1.84%, from 2.75% for
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“What to Say Now About LTCI Rate Increases,” by Margie Barrie, ThinkAdvisor “Q. The topic of rate increases must be part of the conversation when I work with clients. When they request more details, how should I explain the reasons for past rate increases and the probability of future increases? A. Our clients need to be told to expect rate increase and to understand the reasons why. As long as rate increases occur, we will probably see negative articles in the press. So, it will be helpful if our clients understand the challenges that actuaries and carriers encounter when setting
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“A New Public/Private Long-Term Care Financing Plan,” by Howard Gleckman, Forbes “Two years ago, the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative proposed a public catastrophic long-term care insurance program. In effect, people would use private insurance, savings, or home equity to pay for the first few years of their care needs, then the government would pick up costs for people with true catastrophic needs. Today, two highly-respected long-term care experts offered an important refinement to that basic structure: A plan that ties the time period before insurance benefits are available to a person’s income. As a result, lower-income people could access new
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“LTC Insurance Payouts Increased 6 Percent In 2017,” by Jadah Riley, Financial Advisor “U.S. long-term-care insurance companies paid out $9.2 billion in benefits to 295,000 recipients last year, up 6 percent from $8.65 billion a year earlier, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  ‘The total of all benefits paid increased as did the number of long-term-care insurance policyholders on claim,’ said Jesse Slome, director of American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). … ‘Long-term-care insurance provides more than just money,’ Slome said. ‘It’s as much about having control and choices, while protecting your retirement plans and lifestyle.’”
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“70% of Senior Living Communities Don’t Offer Discounted Rents,” by Mary Kate Nelson, Senior Housing News “If there’s one thing that consistently divides the senior living industry, it’s discounting. The practice has been described as “brand-destroying” by Brandywine President and CEO Brenda Bacon and accused of sending consumers the wrong message by various marketing companies, but some providers, like Capital Senior Living (NYSE: CSU), have also put it to use during periods of lower-than-ideal occupancy. As it turns out, though, offering discounts to new residents isn’t all that common. … Almost 70% of survey respondents said they do not offer any type of discount
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