Medicaid Squeeze Hurts Nursing Home Quality: Witnesses

By Maria Wood | March 18, 2019 at 08:21 PM

Low Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes are hurting the quality of care, by keeping operators from offering high enough wages to attract and keep good workers, long-term care (LTC) experts told lawmakers at a recent Senate hearing.

The squeeze can lead to pressure on the quality of care even for private-pay patients, witnesses said at the hearing, which was organized by the Senate Finance Committee.

 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the committee, kicked off the hearing by noting that about one-third of residents in federally funded nursing facilities suffer harm.

That roughly the same percentage as suffered harm in federally funded nursing facilities two decades ago, Grassley said.

Full Article

NEW LTC Study

A Growing Urgency: Retirement Care Realities for Middle-Income Boomers.

How prepared middle-income Boomers are to face the reality of needing care in retirement

Full Article

Webinar – Linked Benefit a New Perspective. A+ Carrier

Cash is King in Long Term Care Policies!

Securian Financial’s new product training

One of the greatest risks to your client’s portfolio is needing Long Term Care! This webinar will introduce you to Securian Financial’s (Minnesota Life) A+ new SecureCare Linked Benefit plan, with a “true” Long Term Care rider.

This plan was designed to compete with the industry standard Money Guard. It provides a rich cash benefit at time of need. This new exciting product will be introduced to you by Ron Cohen and guest presenter Ashlee Gould of Securian Financial.

More Details

Tuesday, March 12, 2019     10:00am to 11:00am

 

Webinar – Pay Check Insurance

Your clients’ greatest asset is their income—specifically their pay check! Many of your clients’ biggest asset is their future earnings! What would happen to your average client if they became too sick or hurt to work?

This webinar will introduce you to Assurity’s individual and business products—products that will help your clients protect their incomes and insure they get a pay check even if they cannot work due to an injury, illness or accident.

These products are highly undersold in the marketplace and can position you as a valued advisor to your clients. This program is presented by Ron Cohen with Macy Sorensen, Regional Sales Coordinator of Assurity.

Topics:

• How to open the door and start the conversation to Disability Income sales.
• Why Middle Income, Small Business and Pink Collar occupations (where women constitute the majority) need your help?
• What Small Business products offer big opportunities?
• The Assurity Advantages with non-medical underwriting.
• How to get started in this marketplace?

Details

Tuesday, February 26, 2019     10:00am to 11:00am

Webinar – LTC Partnership Program

Exciting news for all LTC certified brokers!

The Illinois Partnership for Long Term Care Insurance Program is now LIVE in Illinois, and this new opportunity will create new sales/revenue opportunities for 2019!  Our 1 GEN CE hour webinar will help you understand how the Illinois Partnership for Long Term Care Insurance Program works:

Topics:

• What is the Illinois Partnership for Long Term Care Insurance Program?
• How does the program help your clients protect their assets?
• How can this program help you create new sales opportunities in 2019?
• What are the Medicaid rules for the state of Illinois?
• What plans are presently available that include the program’s benefits?
• How do linked-benefit LTC plans fit into the picture?

Tuesday, January 29, 2019     10:00am to 11:00am

Some LTCI Issuers Count More on Future Rate Hikes Than Others: S&P

By Allison Bell | January 11, 2019 at 02:03 PM

If state insurance regulators started rejecting too many long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increase requests, that could cause serious reserving problems for some U.S. LTCI issuers, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings.

Deep Banerjee and other analysts at S&P Global Ratings have included data on LTCI issuers’ rate increase revenue forecasts in a new look at the assumptions the issuers have used to set their reserves.

(Related: Fitch Wants Insurers to Post More LTCI Performance Data)

Eight insurers  with large blocks of LTCI policies on their books have assumed, when they set their LTCI reserves, that they will get permission from state insurance regulators to implement future LTCI premium increases with a total value of about $12 billion, according to S&P analyst figures.

The projected premium revenue from the “unapproved rate increases” amounts to about 11% of those eight carriers’ $108 billion in LTCI reserves.

Full Article

Industry Articles

• 5 Questions About Life Insurance for 2019
  This might be a year when plain old reliable oatmeal looks good. Read more.
• Life-LTC Hybrid Sales Soar: LIMRA
  About 25% of new U.S. life premiums paid for policies offering LTC or chronic illness benefits. Read more.
• How to Help Your Clients Keep Their New Year’s Resolutions
  A successful journey to financial wellness can begin with one small baby step. Read more.