LTC
Bullet: LTC Gadflies Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Seattle-- LTC Comment: How
shall we get long-term care on the political front burner during the
coming presidential campaign season?
Join the "LTC Gadflies" after the ***news.*** *** LTCI CONFERENCE.
Are you coming to the "Seventh Annual Inter-Company LTCI
Conference" in Dallas March 25-27, 2007?
If you haven't registered and made your travel plans yet, now's
the time. Check it out at http://secure.lenos.com/lenos/soa/LTCI2007/.
*** *** LTC ALMANAC.
Everything you need to know in one place. The Center for Long-Term Care Reform's new "Almanac of
Long-Term Care" is an indispensable information resource for anyone
claiming expertise in the complicated, constantly changing field of LTC.
Feedback so far on the Almanac?
"Fabulous." "Excellent."
"Like Christmas and birthday all rolled into one."
But the Almanac is for Center members only.
If you'd like a sneak peek at the Almanac, contact Damon at
206-283-7036 or damon@centerltc.com.
He'll give you a temporary user name and password to enter
"The Zone," the Center's members-only website, where you'll
find the "Almanac of Long-Term Care" and many other valuable
information resources. If
you like what you see, tell Damon "I'm in" and he'll give you
permanent access to The Zone and start our e-publications coming to you
even while your "check is in the mail." *** *** NYT ARTICLE.
Remember that New York Times op-ed we took to task last
week in a letter to the editor? (LTC
E-Alert #7-008: Our
Response to NYT Op-Ed "Escape From the Nursing Home" at http://www.centerltc.com/members/e-alerts/ltc_ea7-008.htm).
One of our readers, Stephen Monroe, also a newsletter publisher,
sent this letter to the New York Times about the same piece: "As
Mr. Rosofsky points out in 'Escape From the Nursing Home,' people who
don't need skilled nursing care often end up in a nursing home because
Medicaid will cover the cost. What
he does not address is why so many people don't choose assisted living,
which is half the cost, or home health care.
The answer, of course, is that few people plan for their
long-term care needs, whether $75,000 a year for a nursing home or
$36,000 a year for an assisted living facility (and more in the NYC
metro area). People want to
stay at home as long as they can, but that gets expensive when the need
is beyond three hours a day, and the children of our elderly seem to
know all too well that the faster a parent can qualify for Medicaid, in
a nursing facility, the larger their inheritance, if anything is left.
Alternatively, the cost per day of long-term care insurance for a
high-end policy when you are in your 40's is less than the cost of a cup
of coffee each day at Starbucks. If
people want choices when they are 85, perhaps they should make some
spending choices today. But
don't count on sharing an apartment with two strangers, pooling your
funds for a 24-hour aide and using the money left over for 'fun and
frolic.' That is just
silly." Did
this letter to the editor come from an insurance agent? No. Steve Monroe
is the publisher of "The SeniorCare Investor," a well-known
and highly regarded newsletter that tracks "The inside story on
mergers and acquisitions in nursing homes, assisted and independent
senior living." Check
it out at http://www.seniorcareinvestor.com/.
*** LTC BULLET: LTC
GADFLIES LTC Comment: Wikipedia
defines "Gadfly"
as "a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting
or novel questions, or attempt to stimulate innovation by proving an
irritant." Don't
you think it's about time somebody upset the long-term care status quo
by asking some tough questions and speaking truth to power?
Join the Center for Long-Term Care Reform's "LTC
Gadfly" brigade. Here's
what we have in mind. I'm going to "take the show on the road"
in 2008. Call it the
"National Long-Term Care Consciousness Tour."
Details will follow in the months ahead. But here's the basic idea: I'll visit each of six zones of the continental
United States for a month or two during the presidential election year.
While there, I'll work with Regional Representatives of the
Center for Long-Term Care Reform to raise the long-term care issue with
politicians, policy makers, the public and the media. We'll ask the tough POLICY questions.
Who should pay for long-term care?
How can Medicaid be a safety net for the poor AND the main LTC
payor for nearly everyone? Where will the money come from for public financing when
boomers retire and draw down Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? We'll ask the tough PERSONAL questions.
Who will pay for YOUR long-term care?
Are you insured for that risk?
Have your parents or grandparents used Medicaid for LTC?
Did you or they consult a Medicaid planner?
Did you pay Medicaid back out of the estate or take the windfall
for yourself? We'll write op-ed articles.
We'll meet with newspaper editorial boards. We'll do talk radio. We'll
engage politicians and public officials. We'll enlist LTC providers.
We'll educate financial planners and accountants.
We'll address Estate Planning Councils.
We'll work with reverse mortgage lenders. We'll rock the boat but we'll do it with HUMOR and
GOOD WILL. Is this something you might like to do with us?
If so, let me know. Just
reply to this email or contact me directly at smoses@centerltc.com
. Right now we're only gauging interest.
We'll firm up plans over the coming year.
In the meantime, I want to begin to mobilize our gadfly brigade.
If you respond and want to participate, here's what will happen. We'll put you on a list of LTC Gadflies who will
periodically receive special notices about our plans. You'll be invited to participate in monthly "webinars"
when we get to the stage of planning regional strategies. You'll be invited to take our "LTC Graduate
Seminar" by webinar. It
will be a ten-week course, one hour per week, and a pre-requisite for
all Regional Reps. Check it
out at http://www.centerltc.com/ltc_grad_seminar.htm. If you're still interested when it comes time for
the field work and you qualify as a Regional Representative of the
Center for Long-Term Care Reform, we'll work together on planning,
scheduling, and financing. While there will have to be some up-front investment, I believe that Regional Reps will net a positive cash flow based on connecting with valuable centers of influence and attracting new business. |