long-term care insurance

Interest Grows In Social Insurance For Long-Term Care. But What Should It Look Like?

Federal and state policymakers increasingly are interested in creating a public social insurance program for long-term care in the US. Even some Democratic presidential hopefuls have raised the issue, though still only in general terms. That growing interest is great news, and long past due. But what should such a model look like? Designers face a handful of critical high-level [...]

By |2019-09-04T13:27:55-04:00September 4th, 2019|long-term care financing, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Sales Of Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance Policies Continue To Fall

Americans bought only about 60,000 stand-alone long-term care (LTC) insurance policies in 2018, down 13 percent from 2017. Only about 15 carriers were actively selling policies, and five of them accounted for more than three-quarters of the market, as measured by premiums. The grim news was included in the latest version of an authoritative annual survey of long-term care insurance [...]

By |2019-07-03T12:05:24-04:00July 3rd, 2019|long-term care insurance|9 Comments

An Ambitious State-Based Plan for Universal Family Care That Falls Just Short On Long-Term Care

These days, efforts to reform our broken system of long-term care are being led by the states. To support and build on those programs, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) released an ambitious agenda for structuring and financing programs to help families support their loved ones. The NASI framework, called Universal Family Care, goes far beyond long-term care financing. It [...]

By |2019-06-28T10:52:44-04:00June 28th, 2019|long term care reform|0 Comments

A Top House Democrat Mulls A Medigap Long-Term Care Benefit

House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) is mulling a plan to add a limited long-term care benefit to Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance. Minnesota proposed a similar plan last year. And the idea would expand to traditional Medicare a recent innovation that added limited supports and services to Medicare Advantage managed care plans. Neal is the second key [...]

By |2019-06-10T16:58:42-04:00June 10th, 2019|long-term care insurance|1 Comment

The Trump Administration Is Looking At Tax Breaks And Other Ways To Boost Private Long-Term Care Insurance

The Trump Administration is (very quietly) looking at ways to reinvigorate the flagging private long-term care (LTC) insurance market. The recommendations are expected to surface later this year. And they likely will be very modest. The ideas being considered would make some regulatory changes and create new tax subsidies to encourage consumers to purchase private LTC insurance. They would send [...]

It’s Official: Washington Will Be The First State With Public Long-Term Care Insurance

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed into law the nation’s first public state-operated long-term care insurance program. The Long-Term Care Trust Act will pay benefits of up to $36,500 for those who need assistance with regular daily activities such as eating, bathing, or help with medications. The benefits initially will be funded with a payroll tax of 0.58 percent on [...]

By |2019-05-15T14:06:44-04:00May 15th, 2019|long-term care financing|4 Comments

How To Help Middle-Income Seniors Pay For Their Long-Term Care Needs

Recent articles in the journal Health Affairs attempted to attach numbers to a problem that millions of American families are intimately aware of: Many middle-income older adults cannot afford to pay their out-of-pocket costs for health care and senior housing. And the problem is going to get worse once the Baby Boomers begin to hit their late 70s and early [...]

By |2019-05-10T16:20:20-04:00May 10th, 2019|long-term care financing|0 Comments

Washington State’s Public Long-Term Care Insurance Program Is On The Verge Of Becoming Law

A first-in-the-nation state long-term care insurance program is likely to become law within a few weeks. In Washington State, both houses of the legislature have approved the measure, though they must resolve relatively minor differences between the two bills. Gov. Jay Inslee has promised to sign it. Washington would be the first state in the US to enact a public [...]

Is Washington State About To OK Public Long-Term Care Insurance?

Washington State may soon approve the nation’s first publicly-funded long-term care insurance program. The measure, called the Long-Term Care Trust Act, would provide a maximum benefit of $36,500 for people who need assistance with at least three activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, toileting, transferring, dressing, or eating. It would be funded with a payroll tax (or what [...]

By |2019-03-03T17:27:04-05:00March 1st, 2019|long-term care insurance|0 Comments

The Federal Government Will Spend Half Its Budget On Older Adults In Ten Years

In 10 years, the federal government will spend half its budget (not counting interest on the debt) on those aged 65 and older. The inexorable aging of the Baby Boom generation means that a growing share of federal spending will be used to support older adults—mostly for health care and retirement benefits. As CBO importantly notes, it is misleading to [...]

By |2019-02-01T09:25:16-05:00February 1st, 2019|Aging|0 Comments