To encourage more Americans to plan for the potential risk of needing costly long-term care, the Federal government and a growing number of states now offer significant tax-saving incentives for the purchase of special tax-qualified long-term care insurance.

"The cost of long-term care coverage could be fully tax-deductible," explains Dorothy McMahon of McMahon and Associates Ltd., located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. "Most individuals are unaware of this fact and the significant savings opportunity it provides and some of the exclusive benefits offered to the small business owner."

Legislation passed in 1996 created generous incentives for business owners to purchase long-term care insurance for themselves, spouses as well as their key executives. As a result, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, some eight million Americans now own this protection with some 400,000 new policies issued last year.

"The rules vary based on the type of business entity but in general, business owners can deduct 100 percent of insurance premium paid for employees. Owners can deduct up to 100 percent of their own premium. In addition, the law allows spouses to be insured under the company-plan, even if they are not employed. Most insurers today offer significant discounts when both husband and wife are protected," explains McMahon. "When you factor in the tax savings applied to both policies, it's almost like getting two people covered for the cost of one."

Businesses that are established as C-Corporations benefit today from full deductibility for owners and spouses, notes McMahon. The owner can offer tax-deductible long-term care insurance coverage to whomever they choose on a selective basis - even if that's merely the owner and his or her spouse, McMahon adds. This is truly one of the last remaining tax-advantaged benefits available especially for owners.

In most states, insurers offer paid-up options that allow the business owner to have their protection fully paid for upon reaching age 65 or after a pre-determined time period, say 10 years. This is an important advantage available to a business owner who wants to have their coverage paid-up fully before they retire or sell the business, adds McMahon. You're covered for life without having to write checks when you are retired.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

Under Age 65?  Need Health Insurance?  We offer individual health insurance.

And you will want to talk with us about other insurance products such as: Life Insurance and Voluntary Benefits for Employees including: Disability Income Insurance, Life, Health, Short and Long Term Disability, Critical Illness Coverage, Accidental Death, Long-Term Care, Dental / Vision  and Critical Illness insurance.

Additionally, McMahon and Associates is affiliated with a Property Casualty Insurance Agency that can fill all your Personal and Business insurance needs.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

The May 2, 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine includes an article on the topic of Long-Term Care claims (click here to read: Make Sure Your Insurer Pays Up).

It’s a decent piece of work, and as the author says, "getting a long-term-care claim approved is the easy part." Here I'd like to offer a few observations and pointers based on 20-plus years experience as a Long-Term Care Insurance professional.

Making a claim on your Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) should be no more difficult or complicated than making a claim on a homeowners, auto or disability insurance and there are many things you can do at claim time to simplify and speed the process.

If you're just now buying LTC insurance, buy from a knowledgeable agent who cares about his or her clients. An agent can be a tremendous help at claim time. The agent should be intimately familiar with your policy and can often help you avoid miscommunications and other problems during what can be a highly emotional time.

At claim time, your first phone call should be to your agent. He or she can often guide you through the claims process and help eliminate needless frustration and delays.

Since many years typically pass between when a policy is purchased and when a claim is made, you likely would benefit from reviewing your policy, paying attention to these points:
 

• Deductible: Review how the deductible, usually called an ‘elimination period’ is covered.
  
  
• Licensing requirements: Pay attention to the caregiver’s licensing requirements to make sure you maximize the benefits from your policy.
  
  
• Proof of licensing: Make sure your claim paperwork includes copies of any required proof of licensing, or the claim could be delayed. Call your claims representative with any questions to make certain your claim is not delayed due to insufficient documentation.

Also, pay attention to the process

• Start a file: Dedicate a spiral bound notebook to the claim. Keep a record of any and all phone conversations with the claims representative, care coordinator and caregivers. Include date, time, who initiated call and who you spoke with. Keeping everything in one place will make it easier if there is a problem.
  
  
• Send all claims forms via return receipt mail so you know when they have been received at the insurance company. Give the insurer several days to process the paperwork before you call and ask for a status. Proof of receipt is important in the event of a claims appeal, since your contract will state the number of days the insurer has to respond to your appeal (day one is the date they receive your paperwork to respond).
  
  
• Keep your policy handy, not in a safe deposit box. Give a complete photocopy of your policy to a close relative or friend in case you are unable to find your policy at claim time.
  
  
• Name at least one person in the third-party notification section of your application. That person will be notified if your policy is ever in danger of lapsing. Whether the danger is from an extended trip, an oversight, or because of a lapse in cognitive ability, this safeguard is designed to make sure your policy is in force at claim time! If you don't name someone during the application process, you can do it any time after the policy is issued.

A report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said the Long-Term Care insurance industry has no systemic issue in regards to claims payments. However, there are many things you can do to simplify and speed the process of making a claim.

Long-Term Care doesn't have to be a complicated and unpleasant subject. In fact, taking responsibility for your own health and welfare can help you avoid years of poverty or substandard care. Everyone must have a Long-Term Care plan in place that will fit their lifestyle and budget.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

It wasn't that long ago that wealthy people would brush off the idea of long-term care insurance assuming they could self insure. But the drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shown many investors that they, and their retirement plans, are no longer invincible. If they weren't worried about outliving their money before, they may be worried now. Burden their financial picture with the cost of possible long-term care, and the worry escalates.

The S&P 500 is down 41% in the last year; that's a handy number for estimating the losses that stock market investors have sustained. Using this index, a stock portfolio worth $1 million a year ago is now worth less than $600,000. What was $2 million is now less $1.2 million; $10 million is now less than $6 million. Those are some scary numbers!

What's an investor to do?

One smart strategy is to leverage the dollars that are left by purchasing insurance. Instead of burdening a portfolio with having to be both big enough and liquid enough to self-insure, a policy can be purchased. Once a new policy is in place, the newly-insured investor has now dramatically shored up his or her financial situation if they need care. Though he or she may no longer be in a position to write large personal checks for long-term care, he has bought, for pennies on the dollar, an LTC insurance policy that will write the checks on his behalf. Investors can find some consolation when they realize that, once the financial risk of needing long-term care is shifted to an insurance company, the need to recoup recent stock market losses is mitigated.

The LTC insurance solution is superior to self-insuring in several ways. The policy can be written to include a guaranteed inflation benefit (such as 5% compound) that is independent of market forces. The insurance policy premium can sometimes be tax-deductible and the proceeds are almost always tax-free. Compare this to the cost of tapping into a qualified retirement plan to pay for long-term care, or the market risk inherent if the self-insurer had to sell either real property or stocks.
 
The losses that investors have sustained in the stock market should serve as a wake-up call. Even wealthy individuals can be vulnerable if they are dependent on stock market values to pay for their long-term care. Now more than ever, it makes sense for even wealthy people to purchase long-term care insurance.


Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), the national trade organization for professionals dedicated to serving the Long-Term Care planning needs of individuals, has established November as Long-Term Care Awareness Month, an expansion from the highly successful Awareness Week conducted last year.

“The awareness campaign which we commenced in 2001 continues to grow and involve more leading national organizations and governmental agencies,” explained Jesse Slome, the Association’s executive director. “Two years ago, the U.S. Congress issued a Resolution (H.R. 133) in support of Long-Term Care Awareness Week, and several Governors declared the week in their states. Michigan was one of them.

Across the country, insurance professionals conducted awareness programs reaching out to one million individuals. “By expanding the campaign to a full month, there will be more time to implement awareness and educational programs,” Slome notes. “The aging of 76 million boomers makes it more relevant than ever to create awareness of the risk and the importance of planning. “Eight million Americans already own Long-Term Care insurance and the average age of purchasers today is 57 (Source: 2008 LTCI Sourcebook published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance). “Clearly we have an enormous opportunity to reach millions of those who have not started to plan," Slome adds.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

Straight Talk About Long-Term Care

Long-Term Care is the type of assistance that a person of any age needs when that person is unable to perform basic activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence or transferring. It is also the best option for a person who needs care because of Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of memory loss.

Long-Term Care is NOT nursing home care for the 85 year old. It’s not a place, it is an event!

Some Food For Thought:

• Today, 43% of people receiving Long-Term Care are not seniors but people between the ages of 18 and 64.
• Today 40% of all caregivers are male.
• Today 52% of all working males are caregivers for a person over age 18.

Long-Term Care Insurance will help you to:

• Protect your retirement savings. Do you want to pay for care with money from your portfolio?
• Protect your 401K
• Maintain independence and allow choice as to where you or a family member will receive care.
• Avoid physical, financial and emotional stress, whether you become the caregiver or the care recipient
• Pay for better care for a longer period.

Purchasing Long-Term Care Insurance is a decision to keep yourself (or a loved one) out of a nursing home and from moving in with your kids.

Think of Long-Term Care Insurance as a good pair of shoes. You purchase them for protection so you can go the distance in comfort and style. Without them you are going nowhere.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit

presents:

The Changing Face of Long Term Care
Thursday, October 16, 2008
1:00 - 4:00 P.M.

Registration: 12:30 - 1:00 P.M.

Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus
6600 West Bloomfield, MI 48322

Sponsored by
McMahon and Associates Ltd.
www.buyltcinsurancenow.com

For Information Contact:
Stephanie Appel LMSW
(248) 592-2667


Click here to download brochure


Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.

    

Just about every newspaper or magazine we pick up these days has information about baby boomers and their aging parents.

We as a society are aging.  For those boomers who are employed, I suggest that when you go to your place of business the next time, look around.  How many of your co-workers are dealing with a caregiving situation?  Have they discussed with anyone exactly what they are experiencing?  Does the employer know what they are dealing with? 

Whether they talk about or not, they are suffering from the silent epidemic that is taking its toll on both employers and employees, affecting all of them physically, emotionally and financially.   Emotional stress shows its face as indecision, apathy, anger and depression.  Physical stress shows itself as sleeplessness, fatigue, stomach disorders, anxiety and inappropriate laughing and crying.  How can an employer not notice?  Family caregivers account for 73% of early departures and late arrivals in the workplace and time off.  

Other ways family caregiving can affect work are long and frequent personal telephone calls, low morale, numerous mistakes and conflicts with co-workers.  On average, 40% of family caregivers take off an average of 17 unpaid days per year due to caregiving.

More than 60% of individuals who are working full or part time are caregivers.  They dedicate an average of 18 hours per week to provide care for older persons and even more than that when the person has more than one disability.  Caregiving is a very well kept secret.  People are fearful that their job will be in jeopardy if they discuss their situation openly. They are fearful of a demotion, of not being considered for a promotion and fearful of even losing the job.  According to a Met Life study, working caregivers lose an average of $659,139 during their career in terms of social security, pension and wages lost.

Caregiving is having a negative impact in the workplace and 40% of employers say they have no plan in place to assist caregivers.   Another Met Life study indicates that the average working caregiver costs a business $2,110 annually in productivity and that 42% of America’s work force provide some form of care.  For a business with 100 employees, of which 42 are caregivers, more than $88,000 is lost annually.  The caregiving cost to employers is estimated to be as high as $33.6 billion per year and will only increase as the population continues to age.  It’s time that both employers and employees become proactive in dealing with the many issues of caregiving.  Working together, possibly forming a support group so that employees can exchange their ideas and feelings in a safe and secure environment could be a good first step.


Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates, is a Long-Term Care Insurance Consultant in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Reach her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@aol.com.

Announcement!
Innovative Employer Caregiving Programs Broadcast
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
1:00–2:00 P.M. (Eastern Time)

How to Register:
To register and find out more information on the broadcast (how/where it can be viewed,
and how to access the live Q & A) please go to www.blsmeetings.net/caregivers.
If you have any questions, please email us at caregivers@cms.hhs.gov

    

Your brain has become a sieve.
Words I speak sift through it.
‘It’s time to eat, I say.
‘Come to the table.’
You look toward the sound of my voice…
Unknowing, unthinking, unmoving.

Your eyes are still blue,
Your mouth opens and closes,
Your body is whole,
But – your mind is a sieve.
Only a clump of childhood memories cling within.

Neurotransmitters fail,
Leaving brain cells unconnected’ the doctor has explained
‘Neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques,
Atrophied cells,’ were words used
To mask the fact
That your brain has become a sieve.

I try again. Placing my face close to yours,
Slowly, clearly I send the words to you,
‘Come to lunch’.
Once again these words sift through.

Resorting to the only language left between us,
My arms reach out for you, enfold you.
Your body does not forget.
Your arms remember.
They respond with a desperate embrace,
And you follow me.

~ Betty Wiley
April 6, 1991

After serving as a public school teacher, Betty Wiley cared for her husband Lawrence Wiley for eight years before he died of Alzheimer's disease. Lawrence was a veteran of World War II and a corporate attorney in western Michigan before early retirement was thrust upon him due to his illness. The copyright for "Connections" is owned by the estate of Betty Wiley, and the poem has been published with their permission.

  

 

    

Whether you are shopping for a car, a vacuum cleaner or an insurance policy, it helps to be an educated consumer. To help us get on the same page, you may find it useful to print out this page.

Long-Term Care

What you require when you can no longer take care of yourself due to a prolonged or chronic illness or injury. This care may include help with “activities of daily living,” such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence or transferring or it can be skilled nursing care.

 

Continuum of care

Long-Term Care can be received in a variety of locations, including: home, an assisted living facility, an adult foster care home, a home for the aged, an Alzheimer's facility, an adult day care center, hospice care, respite care, nursing home or a continuing care requirement community.

 

Caregiver

Skilled caregivers include RNs, LPNs and LVNs.

Intermediate and custodial caregivers include home health aids.

Basic caregivers are family members or friends.

 

The definition of Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-Term Care insurance is an insurance policy or rider designed to provide coverage on an expense incurred (reimbursement) or indemnity basis for one or more necessary or medically necessary diagnostic, preventative, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance or personal care services provided in a setting other than an acute care unit of a hospital. Long-Term Care insurance does NOT require a prior hospital stay before benefits are paid and all policies that are sold today MUST, by law, pay benefits to patients for Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

 

Home health care

Services received in the home can be health care or personal care services through a home care agency, family member or friend. These services can be medical or non-medical and can include assistance with shopping, meals and companion care. Home health care can be a cost effective choice, and is most peoples' first choice for care.

 

Assisted living

Assisted Living offers an alternative to nursing home care. Accommodations for Assisted Living are typically an apartment with private bath and kitchenette for individuals or couples, one or both of whom may need help with activities of daily living. Residents are able to furnish and decorate the apartment to their liking and some facilities even allow pets. Residents in these facilities choose to remain independent as long as possible to protect their families from the burden of care giving. This arrangement maximizes the independence and dignity of the individual and their family. These residential care facilities have become extremely desirable over the past few years.

 

Assisted living residences may have as many as three of four levels of care, and services may include two or three meals per day served in a common dining room, assistance with activities of daily living, housekeeping services and help with ambulating. Medication is dispensed as needed, or medication reminders, and exercise programs are available. There is twenty-four hour security and a staff on call at all times. Daily room and board fees include laundry, utilities and social and recreational services as well as transportation and housekeeping services.

 

Assisted living facilities can be free standing or part of independent living situations, apartment complexes or included in a continuum of care center in a senior community or nursing home. Costs vary based on location, and are about 75% of the cost of a nursing home.

 

Who should consider Long-Term Care insurance

Anyone who intends to get older. Go ahead and laugh, but I am not joking. Intelligent, responsible people who plan ahead realize that accidents and illness will happen to younger people as well as the aged. We all need to plan for Long-Term health care, just as we need to plan for the possibility of becoming disabled during our working years. When we are disabled, our income stops but we still need to pay the mortgage or rent, and the same goes for utility and car payments. Disability income insurance provides the income to pay for these expenses. Long-Term Care insurance pays for the care, if we need it, for an extended period. Our health insurance pays the deductibles and co-pays and covers the cost of prescription medications and hospital and doctor bills.

 

Those who are under age 59 and a half who need Long-Term health care and do not have Long-Term Care insurance will have to draw from their savings, 401k or IRA money to pay for care. Not only will they have to pay taxes on this money when it is withdrawn, but they will also be forced to pay a 10% penalty for early withdrawal. People requiring Long-Term Care who don't have Long-Term Care insurance could lose huge amounts of money if they have not planned ahead.

 

Younger people should consider Long-Term Care insurance to guarantee their insurability. If we are not insured and our health declines, as is practically inevitable as we age, we could be excluded from purchasing Long-Term Care insurance.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates, is a Long-Term Care Insurance Consultant in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Reach her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@aol.com.