“To Help Others, One Couple Talks About Life With Early-Onset Alzheimer’s,” by Brian Mann, National Public Radio “Researchers say as many as 200,000 Americans experience Alzheimer’s younger than the typical age of 65, developing dementia-like symptoms in their 40s and 50s. . . . The Doolittles launched a podcast together called Alzheimer’s Chronicles. In their first broadcast in November, Will laid out the challenges that younger families experience with Alzheimer’s.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): I wonder how many young people and families will think about LTCI having read this article or heard
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“Why Tax Hospitals? It’s a Medicaid Shell Game,” by Red Jahncke, Wall Street Journal “Taxing hospitals sounds strange, especially since most are nonprofits. It also would seem to increase their costs and, thus, the cost of care—much of which, thanks to Medicaid, is borne by the state that levies the tax. Yet 42 states tax hospitals. Why? One answer is the perverse incentives built into the Medicaid law. When a state returns tax money to hospitals through Medicaid ‘supplemental payments,’ it qualifies for matching funds from Washington. . . . No wonder taxes on medical providers have both risen and
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“Rising Number Of Older Americans Carrying Debt Into Retirement,” by Jadah Riley, Financial Advisor “Between 2003 and 2015, debt among borrowers between the ages of 50 and 80 increased by roughly 60 percent, according to a 2016 study by the New York Federal Consumer Credit Panel. Student debt among retirement aged borrowers 65 and older swelled 385 percent between 2005 and 2015, while overall debt levels for the age group spiked from 2 billion to 22 billion in roughly the same time period, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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The Maryland Insurance Administration is requiring that all Long Term Care Insurance applicants in Maryland are provided with a LTCi Partnership Disclosure Notice at the time of application. This document is included with Maryland’s LTC Application & Forms in your Agent Portal. Please begin providing this form to LTCi applicants in Maryland. It is also required for producers to maintain records demonstrating that the required disclosure statement was provided to each LTCi applicant. Additional information can be found in the following Maryland Insurance Administration bulletin. You can also contact LifeSecure’s Agent Support team with any questions at 866-582-7701 or via
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Alert Regarding Rate Increases Earlier this year, the Delaware Department of Insurance was made aware that various members of the insurance industry have been responding to consumer inquires related to premium rate increases by claiming the Department of Insurance has required an insurer to raise premium rates. In response, the department released a bulletin to reiterate that it is unlawful for all persons and companies engaged in the aspect of insurance to make any assertion, representation or statement with respect to the business of insurance which is untrue, deceptive or misleading. Please refer to the bulletin above and Delaware Insurance
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LTCi Rate Increase Announcement Based on our analysis, earlier this year we began seeking premium rate increases in certain states for our first generation Long Term Care Insurance business (policy series LS-0002 et al, issued prior to Feb. 3 2014). Agents with impacted clients will receive a notification via email once the rate increase receives state approval. We expect this process to be completed by the end of 2018. The notification timeline for agents and policyholders is as follows: Agents — at least five days prior to policyholder notifications Policyholders — at least 45 days before the rate increase effective
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