“Long Term Care Insurance — Act Now!,” by Terry Savage, TerrySavage.com Quote: “One of the most tragic aspects of the coronavirus pandemic is that as of June 3, 42% of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have come from nursing homes or assisted-living facilities. The statistics reinforce every senior’s desire to remain at home in his or her final years, which is only possible if you have the resources to afford this very expensive home health care — or if you have long-term care (LTC) insurance. Otherwise, state Medicaid programs provide care for the impoverished, though mostly in institutions. Perhaps
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“‘Sin Taxes’ Could Help States in Pandemic Budget Slump (at Least a Little Bit),” by Elaine S. Povich, Quote: “Gas tax revenue plummeted this spring, income taxes won’t rebound anytime soon and some states are offering a property tax holiday because people can’t pay during the pandemic. But so-called sin taxes are rolling in as liquor stores boom, marijuana sales continue, vapers vape and smokers smoke. …Taxes on those items often are more politically palatable because they generally affect a smaller portion of the population and the purchases are seen more as a choice than a necessity.” LTC Comment (from
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“Long-term care facilities as a risk factor in death from COVID-19,” by Neil Gandal, Matan Yonas, Michal Feldman, Ady Pauzner, and Avraham Tabbach, Vox Quote: “COVID-19 deaths rates vary widely across European countries, from as low as 5 deaths per million in Slovakia to as high as 760 deaths per million in Belgium (as of May 13). Using data on 32 countries from the WHO European Health Information Gateway, this column shows that the COVID -19 death rate is higher in countries with more long-term care beds. This provides evidence that living in long-term care facilities is a significant risk factor
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