LTC Bullet: What Have You Done for Me Lately?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Seattle--

LTC Comment: What a year! Did you get value from the Center for LTC Reform? We'll report today. You decide. Then please let us know. Thanks for your support.

 

LTC BULLET: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?

LTC Comment: What a challenging year!

  • LTC insurance sales remain down or flat overall although most producers tell us they're managing, some even prospering.
  • Congress seems on the verge of handing over to government the remaining private half of health care financing, though I still doubt it'll happen.
  • Long-term care financing is caught in the turbulence because the CLASS Act may slip through as part of the bigger health reform plan.
  • Government spending at all levels exploded this year throwing local, state and federal budgets into the red.
  • Entitlement mentality is stronger than ever, but entitlement programs are weak and carry massive unfunded liabilities.
  • The long-awaited Age Wave has begun to crest and will soon crash on us.
  • Expect more of the same in the coming year(s), only worse.
  • That's why consumers will need you and your counsel more than ever.

It's a sorry state (in every sense of the word) we're in. But here's the good news. If we can't stop government from jumping off a fiscal cliff, we (you and your Center) are better positioned than anyone else to mitigate the damage.

If you advise aging Americans about financial planning, you are your clients' last line of defense against eroding public benefits on which so many have come to rely. If your job is to protect them against long-term care risk and cost, then you're the last hope they'll receive quality care at the most appropriate level by paying privately.

But how do you crack through the veil of denial that prevents most people from seeing the need to plan early and save, invest or insure? That's where your Center for Long-Term Care Reform comes in. Our goal is to help you help more people prepare responsibly for LTC. And everything we do-- research, publication, speaking, legislative testimony, and advocacy--is aimed at achieving that goal.

So what have we done for you lately? Here's a sampling.

  • Early in 2009, we extended the Center's 2008 National Long-Term Care Consciousness Tour into the new year with a "Western Mini-Tour." We covered several more states and brought the message of rational LTC policy and responsible LTC planning to hundreds more advisers and consumers.
  • Center president Steve Moses published 15 new bylined articles in LTC provider and insurance trade journals, newspapers, or other publications.
  • Seven of our "LTC Bullets" we're republished as Gerson Lehrman Group "Analyses," including "CLASS Consciousness: Problems with the 'Kennedy' CLASS Act"; "We Reply to Washington Post Blast at Federal LTC Insurance"; "Will Health Reform Include Long-Term Care?"; "Welfare for the Well-to-do?"; "So What if the Government Pays for Most Long-Term Care? 2007 Data Update"; "If you think health care and Medicare are problems, consider long-term care and Medicaid"; and "Feds Rank Nursing Homes Like Restaurants."
  • Risk Management magazine republished our annual report on government interference in the LTC financing market titled "So What if the Government Pays for Most Long-Term Care?" Watch for our 2010 update in January as soon as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes the latest data on LTC financing sources.
  • Our op-ed in the Providence Journal titled "Rhode Island Medicaid Has Sprung a Leak" attracted outside financing for our major study of LTC financing in R.I.
  • Our research for the Rhode Island project is complete. The report, to be titled "Doing LTC RIght" will be published in time for the opening session of the Ocean State's next regular session and offers a long-term care financing model for the whole country. (Special thanks to the many donors who made this project possible and who will be recognized publicly in our final report.)
  • Thanks to VP for Administration Damon Moses's efforts, we've posted numerous additions to our LTC-TV feature. Check them out here. You'll see interviews with many people you know and other experts you need to hear.
  • Damon also directed and produced our "website webinar," a virtual tour of www.centerltc.com. Check it out here. You'll find a cornucopia of helpful information in our public and members-only websites.
  • We announced that Steve Moses' April 2000 lecture titled "The Long-Term Health Care Crisis: How Can We Solve It?" was included among "the most important Heritage Lectures of the past 27 years." See the LTC Bullet here.
  • Steve was also recognized as one of Long-Term Living magazine's five "People Making a Difference in Long-Term Care."
  • Steve Moses delivered 21 speeches and conducted four briefings at conferences and meetings throughout the United States on many themes but with one central focus: planning for long-term care is more important than ever because of the impending collapse of government safety net programs.
  • LTC Bullets: By the end of this week, we will have published 61 LTC Bullets during 2009.
  • LTC E-Alerts: By the end of this week, we will have published 147 of our daily LTC E-Alerts in 2009.
  • We've covered the "CLASS Act" often this year with full analysis and criticism in eight LTC E-Alerts, three LTC Bullets, and in many shorter items.
  • We published an important preliminary report on LTC financing in Rhode Island titled "The Age Wave, the Ocean State and Long-Term Care" in concert with the Ocean State Policy Research Institute (OSPRI). Read it here.
  • We don't keep count, but we've responded to hundreds, maybe thousands, of phone and email inquiries from members, media, policy makers, legislators, and think tanks. We're dedicated to getting LTC right.

In the coming year . . . in 2010 . . . we all need the Center for Long-Term Care Reform carrying out its mission to "ensure access to quality long-term care for all Americans."

Won't you help us keep the pressure on for rational LTC policy and responsible LTC planning?

Where else can you get one-a-day mental vitamins like our LTC E-Alerts and LTC Bullets to educate and motivate you?

Just think of all the resources the Center puts at your fingertips:

Review dozens of our articles, speeches and reports here.

Find over 850 LTC Bullets archived by date and by topic here.

For one week only, preview "The Zone" here. (Temporary user name: free; password: trial)

Check out testimonials the Center's received here.

Find our membership levels and benefits schedule here: It covers everything from individual memberships ($150 per year) to all levels of corporate memberships.

Still harboring doubts? Get your free trial membership here.

Thank you for giving us another year to fight the good fight for our common objective: better LTC for all. Keep the faith. We'll be there for you as long as you're there for us.