| Keep an eye on insurers
Like a lot of retirees who don't want to be a financial burden to their families, Mary Derks purchased a long-term-care insurance policy at age 65. Twelve years later, after a series of health setbacks, Derks counted on her insurance to help cover the cost of assisted living. Yet her insurer, Conseco, found excuse after excuse to deny her claims. Now, four years later, Derks' daughter has had to sell part of the family business to cover her elderly mother's care. That case in Montana is far too common nationwide. A recent investigation by the New York Times revealed that Conseco and a few other insurance companies had devised bureaucratic obstacles to delay or avoid payment of benefits. Conseco and its subsidiary Bankers Life made quick resolution of policyholders' claims difficult and commonly asked for irrelevant paperwork, according to documents the newspaper obtained.
Blue Chip News: Fundamental Review for Aetna Inc.
Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano; Aetna is one of the most active health insurance companies in the US. The company operates in three segments. Its Health Care division offers HMOs, PPOs, point-of-service (POS) plans, health savings accounts, and traditional indemnity coverage, along with dental, vision, behavioral health, and Medicare plans. Aetna covers more than 15 million individuals under its health plans, some 13 million dental plan members, and 10 million pharmacy members. Its Group Insurance segment sells life, disability, and long-term care insurance, covering about 15 million people. The Large Case Pensions segment offers pensions, annuities, and other retirement savings products. Shares were down 2% expanding efforts to help consumers purchase health care. BellwetherReport.com is a leading online research firm for international investors looking to get an edge over their portfolio.
Barack Obama Calls For Investigation Into Long Term Health Care ...
Ontario, CA (AHN) - Analysts of the nation's healthcare system say long-term care is the crisis of the 21st century and 3 out of 5 people will need it, while 2 out of 5 will require nursing home facilities. According to Frank N. Darras, widely regarded as one the nation's leading disability and long term care insurance lawyers, the number of Long Term Care policyholders has increased 21 percent annually and now there are approximately six million LTC policies in the United States. "Barack Obama has it right, and it is encouraging to see a presidential candidate focusing on truly helping hard working senior Americans. His call for an investigation into the fraud that is running rampant in the long-term care business is a step in the right direction," says Darras.
Genworth Financial Opens Regional Office in Johnson City
Steve Wilson, General Agent, with the Mid-South Long Term Care Insurance Group has opened a regional office at 801 Sunset Drive in Johnson City. The Mid-South office provides support for Georgia, Tennessee and Northern Alabama. Genworth Life Insurance Company is a Genworth Financial company. Its Long Term Care Insurance Division helped pioneer the development of long term care insurance in 1974, and has been an industry leader ever since. Genworths comprehensive long term care insurance plans help people protect their retirement savings and preserve their financial independence. Our agency specializes in helping to protect families and businesses against the risk of long term care expenses. For information about long term care insurance, including individual or group sales presentations and/or career opportunities in long term care insurance sales, contact the local office at 423-282-1019.
John Hancock Number One Overall in 2006 Long Term Care Insurance Sales
BOSTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Life Insurance Company sold more long term care insurance than any other carrier in 2006, according to recent year-end surveys of long term care insurers by LIMRA International (LIMRA)(1). According to the surveys, John Hancock sold more than 86,000 policies/certificates through all its long term care insurance businesses. In its retail business, John Hancock had the highest growth rate of the top 10 carriers with the number of new insureds growing by 35 percent, compared to an industry average that fell 8 percent. In-force lives increased industry-wide by 3 percent while Hancock's in-force business grew 9 percent. The company also added more than 50 new clients to its group roster which helped boost its new group lives by 23 percent in a marketplace that experienced only 9 percent growth.
Entertainment and Technology Feature Summary for Week Ending Mar. 16
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Mar. 16 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The weekly news feature summary from the Send2Press Wire Service includes this week: NETGEAR selects TeamF1 embedded software for secure gateway/routers; Living Folklore releases Funny Bone Logic interactive DVD with games for developing minds ages 3-8; fitness innovator John Abdo inducted into Hall of Fame; and Georgetown hosts Policy Conference on National Security. Selected News Stories for Week Ending March 16th, 2007: * to read these and other stories in complete detail, with images, please visit: http://www.send2press.com/newswire/ * Long Term Care Insurance for Spanish Speaking Americans KIRKLAND, Wash. - Mar. 16 -- Today LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance brokerage, announced a campaign to bring long term care protection to members of America's second-largest ethnic group, Hispanics.
Nation's Leading Lawyer Says 'Obama Has it Right' When it Comes to ...
ONTARIO, Calif., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Long-term care is the crisis of the 21st century and 3 out of 5 people will need it, while 2 out of 5 will require nursing home facilities. According to Frank N. Darras, the nation's leading disability and long term care insurance lawyer, who reviews over 1000 cases each month, the number of Long Term Care policyholders has increased 21% annually and now there are approximately six million LTC policies in the United States. See http://www.sbd-law.com/. "Barack Obama has it right, and it is encouraging to see a presidential candidate focusing on truly helping hard working senior Americans. His call for an investigation into the fraud that is running rampant in the long-term care business is a step in the right direction," says Darras.
Genworth Survey Reinforces Need For Greater Personal ...
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) today said the results of Genworth Financial's new "2007 Cost of Care Survey" - which found the average national cost of care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home-based care increased 15% since 2004 - should serve as a reminder to every American that they should begin planning for their own long term care needs, and take more personal responsibility for their retirement.
"The findings of the new Genworth study should serve as a wake up call to every American that the staggering costs of retirement can quickly overwhelm one's savings in a disastrous manner," said Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. "With 77 million baby boomers rapidly approaching the age when many will require long term care, it is essential for Congress to pass laws enabling every citizen to equip themselves with the tools necessary to pay for and receive care in the most appropriate setting for their condition."
Yarwood commended Congress for recently passing legislation expanding citizens' ability to purchase state-approved long term care insurance policies.
Prudential Financial Announces Strategic Partnership with the ...
NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2007--Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) announced today the signing of a sales partnership agreement with the National LTC Network, Inc., one of the leading long-term care insurance marketing organizations in the country. Throughout its 13-year history, the Network has committed itself to improving knowledge and awareness of long-term care issues and to promoting innovation in product design and distribution. "The Network has been one of the driving forces behind sales, product innovation and education in our industry," said Eric Holtzman, vice president, marketing and sales of The Prudential Insurance Company of America's Long-Term Care Insurance business. "We are extremely pleased to be selected by the Network to be one of their endorsed LTCi carriers." As a top-10 seller of long-term care insurance and one of only a handful of companies offering both individual and true-group products, Prudential is well positioned to provide Network Associates and their clients a full array of LTC insurance solutions for individuals, groups and associations.
Supplement retirement with health savings
New rules governing Health Savings Accounts are making them more attractive to consumers, who can use HSAs to help reduce health insurance costs now -- and, potentially, in retirement.
Health Savings Accounts are like Individual Retirement Accounts for health care. They were created by Congress in 2003 so that workers could cover some of their medical costs with pretax money if they have high-deductible health insurance plans.
The idea is that workers and their employers can fund the tax-free accounts, with withdrawals used for co-payments at doctors' offices, prescription and nonprescription medicines, and hospital services not covered by insurance.
Because unused balances in the HSAs can be rolled over from year to year, some financial advisers are suggesting that the accounts can be a way for families to accumulate money to be used to cover health care costs in retirement, including Medicare deductibles and long-term care insurance.
CalPERS opens enrollment to long-term care plan
For the next three months, public employees can apply for long-term care coverage offered by the California Public Employees' Retirement System. CalPERS, the nation's second-largest provider of group long-term insurance with 170,000 policyholders, offers three programs: comprehensive plan for at-home, adult day care, assisted living and nursing homes; facilities-only option for nursing home and assisted living care; and partnership plan, a state-backed program offering comprehensive benefits while allowing middle-income families to protect some assets, even if they later have to qualify for Medi-Cal. Long-term care insurance helps consumers offset a large share of the costs. CalPERS' nonprofit program offers policyholders a choice of maximum daily benefits ranging from $140 to $250, with or without inflation protection.
HMO accused of delaying payment in Medicaid program
Home health agencies across Texas say they are being paid late — or not at all — by companies hired by the state to provide care to Medicaid patients with chronic health problems. The state has paid tens of millions of dollars so far this year in premiums to health maintenance organizations that in turn pay providers of medical care or long-term care services. More than 150,000 Texans who are elderly or have disabilities are enrolled in Star Plus, including more than 13,000 in a seven-county area in Central Texas. The HMO program, which is required for certain people, is supposed to save the state money and improve services for recipients of Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for people with low incomes. Home health agencies say the payment problems show that the state was unprepared for the Feb.
A Look Into the LTC-linked Annuity Market
The passage of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) has injected new life into the languishing stand-alone long-term care (LTC) insurance market by paving the way for a new breed of products known as the Annuity/Insurance-LTC Combos. A major benefit of PPA is the tax-free funding for LTC benefits bundled as riders with these life insurance and annuity products. Prior to Bush's reform bill, this funding was subject to taxes. But in 2010, the premiums for all new and in-force life insurance and annuity LTC combo policies will no longer be taxable. Instead of depending on the government to shoulder the cost of the nursing home expenses, the tax benefit, along with the Deficit Reduction Act creates an incentive for Americans to consider private LTC insurance for their needs. Combination products increase flexibility and deal with the many needs for annuity values and LTC benefits at a lower cost than single products.
Long-term care coverage for U. Minnesota employees scrutinized
MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 03, 2007 (Minnesota Daily, U-WIRE via COMTEX) --Recently, the University of Minnesota made the switch to John Hancock Insurance and Financial Services, its new provider for employees' long-term care insurance. This type of coverage takes effect when policy holders are no longer able to care for themselves and are placed in assisted living settings. The company recently came under scrutiny -- in the midst of university employee enrollment -- when it was mentioned in a March 26 New York Times article about insurance companies' denial of so-called "legitimate" claims. Though the story focused primarily on two other carriers, some university employees called the employee benefits office questioning the validity of the allegation and John Hancock's reputation. On April 1 the company took over the coverage, which was first offered to university employees in 2000.
Paying for long-term care is a daunting challenge
Recently, we gave the basics of the different levels of long-term care. This week, we zoom in on the basics of paying for long-term care. Imagine sitting in a nursing home administrator's office and being told, for the first time, that someone will have to come up with $5,000 to $10,000 per month or your loved one who needs help with all of his or her activities of daily living will be discharged. Or sitting in a lawyer's office trying to put together the financial pieces of the puzzle as your loved one is discharged from the hospital to the nursing home. Being hit with the reality of how to pay for long-term care when the length of stay is unknown and the options are limited makes planning most challenging. Although Medicare, Medigap insurance and Veterans Administration benefits may provide some time-limited coverage, generally speaking, there are three ways to pay for long-term care over the long haul: (1) private pay from personal income and resources, (2) long-term care insurance and (3) Medicaid.
Insuring your life is now cheaper
Think about college tuition, health care and your electric bill, and it's easy to assume that prices only move in two directions: up and way up.
But you might not have noticed that one important financial product is significantly cheaper these days: term life insurance. Industry experts estimate that term premiums have fallen 40 percent or more in the past decade alone.
"This is great news," said Gary Schatsky, a financial planner in New York. "You're buying the same thing you bought yesterday at a lower price. It doesn't get any better than that."
Part of the credit goes to longevity. With people living longer, insurers expect fewer claims in a given period and have been able to reduce premiums, industry officials said. Competition also has trimmed prices.
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