Thursday, April 11, 2002
Seattle--
*** New donor-zone content in the "LTC Week in
Review" feature includes LTC E-Alerts #s 107 to 111:
"Trust the Trustees?," "AALTCI Announces New LTCI
Professional Designation," "Mandate LTCI Like Car Insurance?,"
"State News--OR, NJ, NY, IA, and KY," "Impending Medicare Cuts
Threaten Nursing Homes." As
soon as you "Zone In," you can read these and the other 106 LTC
E-Alerts. For details, go to http://www.centerltc.com/DOZ_info.htm
or email amy@centerltc.org.
She'll have you in The Zone in a jiffy. ***
*** The LTC Graduate Seminar near Baltimore Washington International Airport on April 22 is filling fast. Reserve a spot: amy@centerltc.org. We're firming up LTC Grad Seminars for Dallas and New Orleans in June; somewhere in the Northeast in July (possibly New York and/or Boston); Seattle and Portland, Oregon in August; possibly Atlanta in September; and Florida in October or November. Let us know if you have any preferences. Once you've expressed interest to amy@centerltc.org, she'll keep you personally posted as our plans firm up. For all the details on the LTC Graduate Seminar, go to http://www.centerltc.com/ltc_grad_seminar.htm. ***
LTC BULLET: OPM
ON LTCI
Kay Coles James, currently the Director of the U.S. Office
of Personnel Management, recently published an excellent op-ed piece on
long-term care insurance in the Washington Times.
We'll provide a few excerpts below, but you can read the whole article at
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20020403-79011530.htm
LTC Comment: We
first encountered Kay James at a National Press Club Forum on long-term care in
1998. Her presentation followed the
Center for Long-Term Care Financing's at that event. She had the LTC issue nailed.
Her remarks were especially good on the problem of Medicaid planning and
its chilling effect on the marketability of private insurance.
Back then, Ms. James was Dean of the Regent University School of
Government. So, how did she know so
much about Medicaid and long-term care? She
learned at the college of hard knocks! She
ran a state Medicaid program as Secretary
of Health and Human Resources in Virginia and she oversaw the national Medicaid
program as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Kay Coles James is a
powerful force for rational long-term care policy in a key position to influence
the Federal long-term care insurance program.
Excerpts
from: Kay Coles James, "New
Federal Benefits With Responsibilities," Washington Times, April 3,
2002.
"We buy homeowners insurance,
though thankfully most of us will probably never experience major damage from a
house fire. We buy car insurance,
though most will never experience more than a minor fender bender and shopping
cart dings.
"We recognize potential hazards
and we act accordingly to be prepared for the unforeseen accidents that may lie
ahead.
"But what about long-term care
insurance? I would guess you, like
many, do not have this type of insurance, even though statistically there is a
much higher probability you will need long-term care at some point in your
life." . . .
"Fiscal responsibility and
compassion demand that we make purchasing long-term care insurance as convenient
as possible. Without long-term care
coverage, many of us will find ourselves on the road to publicly funded health
care through Medicaid, the program designed to meet basic medical and long-term
care needs of the impoverished. When
faced with the costs of long-term care, many who were never offered long-term
care insurance policies as employees must turn to Medicaid as a last resort.
"Sadly, all too many of us know
someone who has spent down and given away the assets they accumulated over a
life of hard work in order to impoverish themselves to be eligible for
government assistance when faced with the need for long-term care.
After a lifetime of careful planning and responsible behavior, they are
forced to give up a piece of their dignity, their independence, their
individuality, and their privacy as they move to dependence on government
welfare programs. There is a better
way." . . .
"Individuals who purchase
insurance to cover their long-term care immediately increase the options they
have regarding the care they receive. Many
nursing homes accept only a limited number of Medicaid patients, so space may
not be available when care is needed. Additionally,
the setting in which Medicaid pays for care is often not what we might prefer,
such as adult day care centers, assisted living facilities, or the comfort of
our own homes. If individuals take
advantage of the opportunity to purchase the right insurance, such as the
coverage being sponsored by OPM, they will allow themselves greater control over
where and how they receive their care."