Category: Blogs

An easier way to qualify for long-term care insurance

It’s imperative that we continue to look for alternate ways to manage the long-term care (LTC) risk, and that’s how I’ve been spending much of my time. For example, I’m looking at a number of annuities that provide long-term care benefits. Why annuities? Because underwriting for traditional LTC insurance has become rather challenging. For those …

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The Dramatic Difference LTC Insurance Makes to the Caregiver

Mary and Valerie have a lot in common as they are both caregivers. Mary’s Aunt Julia has long-term care insurance, whereas Valerie’s mother does not. Does it make a difference? Have you considered long-term care insurance to protect your family from the impact on Valerie’s life?

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Combining Life Insurance or Annuities with Long-Term Care Insurance

It would be easy to say “yes” to long-term care insurance if you didn’t have to come up with new money to pay for it, wouldn’t it? Well, there might just be a way to pull that off by repositioning money you already have. An important tax change was effective January 1, 2010* that has made it easier to combine long-term care insurance with either life insurance or annuities. This article shows three reasons why you might want to do that.

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What Does the Supreme Court’s Decision to Nullify DOMA Mean for Medicaid LTC Benefits?

Publicity around the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the Defense of Marriage Act on June 26, 2013 has centered around the ability to file joint tax returns and collect survivor social security benefits. My first reaction was “What about the ability to take advantage of the spousal impoverishment benefits under Medicaid?”

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Response to June 8 2013 New York Times article about LTCI claims

If you saw the New York Times article “Fine Print and Red Tape in LTC Policies”, you may be questioning your decision to buy long-term care insurance. Or, if you have a policy, this article may have made you wonder if you should have bought it. The fact that I’m writing this response shows you how important it is to me that you don’t have these doubts. Please let me lay your concerns to rest as I respond to a client’s question about her CNA policy.

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How much does long-term care insurance cost? (rate calculator for sample plan)

Buying long-term care insurance is like buying a car. You pay for the core components like an engine and four wheels with tires on them, then add the options that mean the most to you.

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What happens if a LTC insurer goes out of business? How common does this happen?

Each state has a guaranty fund to protect policyholders from an insurance company that goes out of business. This is an extremely rare situation with long-term care insurance. This article explains what happens to your coverage if a company is declared insolvent.

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How Do You Get a Claim Paid?

Over 99% of long-term care insurance policies sold today are tax-qualified,* which means the way to get a claim paid is the same as it is Federally controlled in order for the premiums to be tax-free according to IRS guidelines and enjoy other tax incentives. Just like you can need care physically or mentally, you can trigger the benefits in one of those two ways.

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Free brochure to share with all you know to save state budget dollars for education and public safety

I’ve been trying since July 2010 to bring attention to the fact Americans think deciding to insure for long-term care is a personal choice, affecting only them. Americans are really choosing between paying long-term care insurance premium which leaves dollars in the state budget for education or not buying LTC insurance, which diverts state budget …

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Tribute to Ann Orman

Suze Orman’s “Southside Girl” passed away this week and when I sent my condolences, Suze immediately sent the obituary she wrote for the Chicago Sun Times right back to me. This is the mom that she was spending $25,000 a month on because her mother would never sign the application to allow Suze to buy …

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