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A Bipartisan Group Proposes A Package of Modest, But Important Long-Term Care Financing Reforms

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington (DC) based group that develops consensus policy solutions,  has proposed a series of reforms aimed at helping families finance long-term care for themselves and their loved ones. The proposal aims to encourage more people to buy private long-term care insurance, including through Medicare,  and would provide a new Medicare respite benefit for family caregivers. [...]

By |2017-07-12T16:38:29-04:00July 12th, 2017|long-term care financing|0 Comments

Americans Remain Baffled By Long-Term Care Financing, But Would Like A Medicare Benefit.

Americans age 40 and older continued to be flummoxed by the challenges of long-term care financing, but increasingly believe that Medicare ought to provide such supports and services. According to a new poll by the Associated Press-University of Chicago NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), support for a Medicare long-term care benefit has grown significantly over the past five [...]

By |2017-05-30T19:37:33-04:00May 30th, 2017|long-term care financing, Medicare|0 Comments

The Staggering Cost of Long-Term Care and Medical Care in Old Age

A typical 65-year-old couple will need to save nearly $400,000 to pay for out-of-pocket medical care and long-term care in old age, according to new estimates by the Fidelity Benefits Consulting. That is $60,000 more than a typical couple’s entire savings at retirement, including equity in their home. Fidelity estimated an older couple will need to put away an average [...]

By |2016-08-31T15:18:24-04:00August 31st, 2016|Health Care, long-term care financing|0 Comments

Who Owns Long-Term Care Insurance?

About 7.2 million Americans currently own traditional long-term care insurance policies, a number that’s held steady for the last seven years. But who are they? And what does it say about the future of long-term care insurance? Overall, the share of older adults who own long-term care insurance (LTCi) has barely changed since 2002, according to new research by my [...]

What If Government Pays for All Long-Term Care?

How much would it cost if government pays for all long-term care?  About $4 trillion over the next decade. We know because Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has proposed to do just that, as part of his ambitious Medicare-for-all health insurance program. And, in an effort to calculate the overall cost of Sanders’s domestic policy agenda, a group of my [...]

By |2016-05-09T15:47:47-04:00May 9th, 2016|long-term care financing|0 Comments

A New Look At The Big Differences In Financial Well-Bring Among Older Adults

For years, experts have been arguing over whether Americans are financially prepared for old age, especially after including the costs of health care and long-term care. But those debates often focus on averages (or medians), a perspective that misses a key point: While some seniors are sitting pretty, many others face a huge challenge. In other words, it isn’t just [...]

By |2016-04-08T10:27:00-04:00April 8th, 2016|Aging, long-term care financing|0 Comments

A New Kind of Annuity for Those Who Already Need Long-Term Care

Imagine you are 75 and suffer a stroke. You have some financial assets but, suddenly facing a lifetime of unexpected personal care needs, you are worried about outliving your money. You never bought long-term care insurance and could never pass underwriting that would allow you to buy now. What do you do? You could tap your home equity with a [...]

By |2016-03-02T14:58:22-05:00March 2nd, 2016|long-term care financing|0 Comments

Yes, We Can Create A Universal Long-Term Care Insurance Program

For three years, I’ve been working with a diverse group of policy experts to create a consensus framework for financing long-term supports and services (LTSS). This morning, the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative, released its recommendations. And they are built around two major reforms: a new universal catastrophic long-term care insurance program and major improvements to Medicaid’s LTSS benefit. Our insurance [...]

A Bipartisan Plan To Pay For Long-Term Care

Four former top government officials—two Democrats and two Republicans—have proposed a new plan aimed at improving the nation’s system for financing long-term care. Their package of ideas is detailed but relatively modest. However, by agreeing to a consensus plan, the officials have taken a major step in raising the profile of the critical issue of long-term care financing. The group [...]

Hawaii Is About To Debate A Public Long-Term Care Insurance Program

  The state of Hawaii is about to have a fascinating debate over whether to create a first-in-the-nation universal long-term care insurance program. The benefit would be modest—about $70-per-day for a year-- but it would be available to all long-term residents of the state and be funded through a broad-based tax. The measure will be introduced by Senate Commerce, Consumer [...]