“Americans’ likelihood of requiring SNF care ‘substantially’ higher than thought, study finds,” by Emily Mongan, McKnight’s LTC News “The average American’s risk of needing skilled nursing care at some point in their life is 60% greater than previous studies have shown, according to new research. . . . The researchers’ increased estimate may be due to a recent shift toward shorter nursing home stays, as hospitals seek to reign in their costs by discharging patients to nursing facilities sooner, researchers noted. The study found that short nursing home stays of 21 nights or fewer increased by six percentage points from
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“Long-term care insurance becomes more expensive, even as the cost of aging skyrockets,” by Mary Katherine Wildeman, Post and Courier “Barbara Franklin has slowly watched over the years as companies offering long-term care insurance have dropped out and premiums have become difficult to afford. As a long-term care specialist and the owner of Franklin & Associates, she said she guides her clients through the decisions they’re faced with as they approach retirement. Often the choices are impossible. While long-term insurance costs rise, so, too, do the debilitating costs of long-term care. An annual cost estimate from Fidelity Investments found last
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“This Is How Much Your Kids Are Worth,” by Suzanne Woolley, Bloomberg   “Michael Hurd doesn’t have a long-term-care insurance policy, but he does have something likely to prove valuable in his old age, however—two daughters. Few Americans assign a dollar amount to the worth of their children—they are without price. But as lead author of a new study looking at nursing home cost and use, Hurd can quantify the value that daughters, and children in general, bring to parents facing one of life’s most dreaded prospects: a stay in a nursing home.” LTC Comment (from Damon V. Moses, Administrative Coordinator, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): If
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“Is Your Retirement Plan as Well Thought Out as Your Vacation?,” by Mark Pruitt, Kiplinger “After working hard all of our lives, the goal for most of us is to have the freedom to go explore and complete the ‘bucket list’ that we have always dreamed of. The problem is most people plan their vacations better than they plan their retirements. “6. Devise a long-term care plan. Six members of my wife’s family have had Alzheimer’s disease. My mother-in-law had it for 16 years. My sister-in-law has it currently and started her journey with Alzheimer’s at age 55. I have
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