Using Your Own Money to Pay for Long Term Care – the Better Way? Part 2
Last week I was talking about the difficulties in funding long term care through long term care insurance or Medicaid. Insurance companies are getting out of the long term care market entirely or drastically raising premiums. Medicaid, the primary government program that covers long term care, is still a
Turning Life Insurance into Long Term Care Insurance (Part 1)
For 20 years now, I’ve been guiding clients and their families on the spend down of assets before applying for Medicaid. Successful applicants must spend down just about everything before getting Medicaid approval, including any life insurance policies that have cash surrender value. For many seniors the cash surrender value of
Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program – Frequently Asked Questions
Last week we were discussing the long term care partnership program which was reinstated as part of the last round of changes to the Medicaid laws in 2006. Now let’s answer some frequently asked questions. Purchasing a “partnership policy” allows you to protect an additional dollar amount in assets above the
What is the Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program?
Is it possible to purchase long term care insurance and be able to protect more than the minimum number of assets that Medicaid allows to qualify for benefits? The question is a reference to something called the Long Term Care Partnership program. The partnership program is designed to encourage people to
A Family Owned Business Long Term Care Nightmare (Part 1)
George built his manufacturing business from scratch. He and his wife, Claire, had raised a family of 2 boys and a girl, but George treated the business like another child, nurturing it from infancy to maturity. It had allowed him to provide for his family, putting all 3 children through
The Death of CLASS
I’m not talking about a loss of manners or style or discretion in a world in which technology has helped push the doors open wide to reveal everything that used to be private or personal. That’s a whole other subject. I’m referring to CLASS, President Obama’s attempt to establish a
How We Pulled Charlie from a Black Hole of Long Term Care
A few months back I wrote about a situation that is not all that uncommon, a nursing home resident with long term care insurance benefits but no other assets. If the insurance payment goes directly to the resident it counts as income, resulting in too much income to qualify for
“But Mom Won’t Live to 100 – Or Will She?”
Quite often when explaining long term care planning to the family member of an aging senior, specifically when I mention the 5 year Medicaid look back, the person will tell me that “Mom won’t live that long”. Of course, no one can predict the future with any certainty so, logically,
How Does Medicaid View Long Term Care Insurance?
Mary cared for her husband, John, at home. John had long term care insurance to help pay for a home health aide. However, over time, keeping John at home simply became impossible and Mary was forced to place him in a nursing facility. She applied the insurance towards the cost
MetLife Dropping Long Term Care Insurance – What Does it Mean for You and Me?
I have been saying it for years now. Long term care is a growing problem in this country, one that won’t go away. Not with the population continuing to age as 77 million baby boomers start to turn 65 in a little more than a month. The sheer number of