Long Term Care Insurance Becoming Less Available?

Long Term Care Insurance helps beneficiaries pay for the health care they need beyond the acute provision of medical treatment.  Medicare pays for the skilled medical treatments but not the lingering chronic symptoms that require the help of another.

As an industry Long Term Care Insurance plans have discovered their operating margin is very slim.  Money from paid premiums is invested in the hopes of producing a return that exceeds the payments when the elder is receiving covered services.  Returns on investments have not come up to the industries expectations.

A large percentage of the purchasing population have continued to pay their premiums and lived to collect.  More going out, less coming in.  As a management strategy Long Term Care Insurance plans have negotiated regulatory changes that would support new rate hikes on existing policies. 

This can mean a person holding a viable policy from the 1970's to 2005 could be faced with the decision to pay a higher premium monthly or accept a lower daily capitated benefit payment. 
This is the Long Term Care Insurance industries action to adjust returns toward an acceptable level of risk.

What this means from a consumers level is the premiums have been raised, the benefit lowered and the quantity of participating people has dropped off.  This means less of a pool of collected money to spread the risk across. 

As a result fewer and fewer companies will create, market, and support these Long Term Care Insurance plans.  Less availability, less competition. 

Which is difficult for communities of today who all have dwellings populated with individuals in need of this type of product.  Home Care Path (www.homecarepath.com) encourages readers to watch this ongoing issue as it unfolds.

Home Care Path has received a Healthy Community Partnership Grant from St. Clare Health Care Foundation to demonstrate how attention to care transitions can keep families from having to run back and forth to the hospital.  This is a free event and everyone is invited to attend.  This includes Pizza from 2 Brother's Pizza and Buffet 221 Broadway Wisconsin Dells  https://www.facebook.com/2BrothersPizzaBuffet

Dates and Locations of free presentations to simplify care transitions:

 Wednesday August 14, 2013 - 1 pm
HoChunk Nation House of Wellness
S2845 White Eagle Road, Baraboo WI 53913

Monday August 19, 2013 - 1 pm
Baraboo Senior Center (Civic Center)
124 Second Street, Baraboo WI 53913

          PLEASE  PLAN  TO  ATTEND!!!