With the aging of the baby boom generation and the cost of health care on the rise, the issue of long-term care (LTC) is of major importance to both consumers and policymakers. While some individuals will be able to rely on friends and family in the event they need extended care and help with the activities of daily living, many others do not or will not have such a support system. These individuals must determine how they will meet the potential need for long-term care and how they will fund costly and extended home health services, assisted living, or a…
Maryland insurance officials approved final rates for health plans to be sold in the state’s new online marketplace that are among the lowest in the country. The plans, which are for individuals, will be sold beginning Oct. 1. The Maryland Insurance Administration approved premiums at levels as much as 33 percent below what had been requested by insurance carriers. For a 21-year-old non-smoker, for example, options start as low as $93 a month. Insurance Commissioner Therese Goldsmith reduced the premium rates proposed by every insurance carrier in the individual market, including some by more than 50 percent, according to an…
The FHA may need as much as a $1 billion rescue package before the end of the year to bolster its reserves despite efforts to shore up its finances with higher mortgage insurance premiums. FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said her agency, which insures some 40 million home mortgages, is struggling with more than $5 billion in losses on reverse mortgages that allow people over 62 to borrow against their home equity and use the money for living expenses. Galante said the FHA played a crucial role in bringing the housing market back from the brink of collapse, but at a…
CMS released a proposed rule outlining program integrity guidelines for the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) and premium stabilization programs. Through the Affordable Care Act, consumers and small businesses will have access to new Marketplaces where they can access quality, affordable private health insurance. Consumers in every state will be able to buy insurance from qualified health plans directly through these Marketplaces and may be eligible for tax credits to lower the cost of their health insurance. “In just a few months, consumers across the country will have access to a new Marketplace in their state where they can easily…
A bad faith insurance class action lawsuit has been filed against the Chicago-based insurance company Bankers Life and Casualty, alleging they are denying benefits to those who paid for long-term health care insurance so they would have security in their old age. The class action, alleging elder abuse, was filed in the U.S. District Court in Portland. Attorneys for the putative class that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, more elderly Oregonians and their families who could join the suit. The Oregon action is similar to other lawsuits against Bankers Life in other states. Grants Pass resident Dennis Fallow, a plaintiff…
Although long-term care is a substantial financial risk for retired households, only about 10 percent purchase insurance, with many of the remainder relying on Medicaid. Faced with rising Medicaid expenditures on long-term care, states have attempted to encourage the purchase of private long-term care insurance through partnership programs that exempt purchasers of qualifying policies from the Medicaid asset test. Using numerical optimization techniques, and assuming plausible preference parameters, we show that the programs will only increase insurance coverage among single males by 5 percent and single females by 4 percent. Most of the program benefits will go to those who…
Family members often experience a feeling of accomplishment when they sign their special needs trusts (SNTs), but signing trust documents is really only the first step in reaching the ultimate goal. The SNT is just a piece of paper if the clients and their team of advisers (often a lawyer, financial adviser, and accountant) have not planned how to fund the trust. Funding the Trust-Common Alternatives Some families have sufficient assets to fund their SNT by directing their assets into the trust through their estate plans. However, even these families may be concerned about future financial setbacks or long-term illnesses…
Here are some important tips: You can Appeal your Discharge. If you are too sick to leave the hospital or if there is no place suitable to go, you can appeal your discharge to Medicare. The hospital should inform you of all your legal rights, appealing the discharge is one of them. Have your Power of Attorney or an advocate deal with the hospital discharge planner and make sure, if you leave the hospital that the place where you’re going you will get the right kind of care. Elder care attorneys can also assist you. Ask Your Doctor Decisions regarding…
These tips may come in handy, given that far too few parents are saving the money they used to spend on their offspring in their retirement accounts. A recent study by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research found per-person spending on non-durable consumables — vacations, apparel, restaurants and food purchases, etc. — actually rises sharply after the kids leave home. In lieu of taking the money you use to spend on your kids and using it toward your retirement, most people are not changing their household spending and, in fact, are increasing their per-capita spending. In 2001, households with children…
All Medicaid recipients are able to keep some of their assets and still qualify for benefits. The key is to understand what Medicaid considers a “countable” versus a “non-countable” asset in Maryland. For instance, a single person in Maryland can keep a few items, a specific type of pre-paid funeral plan, personal belongings, insurance up to $1,500 and up to $2,500. A married couple, one living in the community, and one residing in the nursing home can keep the same exempt assets plus an automobile, and their home, providing the home is under $500,000, and up to $109,560. However, it’s…
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