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Long Term Care In The News......
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Volume 19
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Welcome to the nineteenth edition of Long-Term
Care in the News. We, at Custom Care
Solution, LLC, want you to be on the cutting edge of changes and updates
within the Long-Term Care industry.
We will accomplish this through these email bulletins distributed
each week to our brokers, agents and their staffs.
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NY STATE MEDICAID REFORM PROPOSALS
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According to a recent article in the New York
Law Journal, the New York State Senate Medicaid Reform Task Force and
Governor George E. Pataki’s 2004 budget bill contain proposals to toughen
Medicaid requirements for the elderly in NYS. Though the reforms were not passed this
legislative term, they are likely to be considered in the future. The proposed changes include extending
the look back period for both nursing home care and home care benefits to
five years. Currently, the look back
period is three years, except for certain trust-related transfers, for
which there is a five year look back period. The most dramatic proposal on the table
is the proposal to start the penalty period on asset transfers when the
application for Medicaid benefits is made, i.e. when the individual enters
a nursing home. Currently, the
penalty period starts the first day of the month following the month in
which the transfer is made. The
reform proposal also seeks to impose a penalty period for Medicaid home
care and community-based care.
Currently, there is no penalty period caused by the transfer of
assets when an application for community-based services is made. If passed, the proposed legislation will
also eliminate spousal refusal which is used when one person in a marriage
needs to enter a nursing home. These reforms would be great news for the LTC insurance industry –
and not so good for those attorneys’s who specialize in Medicaid
planning. For a complete copy of
this article please contact
us.
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NY STATE MEDICAID REFORM PROPOSALS
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According to a recent article in the New York
Law Journal, the New York State Senate Medicaid Reform Task Force and
Governor George E. Pataki’s 2004 budget bill contain proposals to toughen
Medicaid requirements for the elderly in NYS. Though the reforms were not passed this
legislative term, they are likely to be considered in the future. The proposed changes include extending
the look back period for both nursing home care and home care benefits to
five years. Currently, the look back
period is three years, except for certain trust-related transfers, for
which there is a five year look back period. The most dramatic proposal on the table
is the proposal to start the penalty period on asset transfers when the
application for Medicaid benefits is made, i.e. when the individual enters
a nursing home. Currently, the
penalty period starts the first day of the month following the month in
which the transfer is made. The
reform proposal also seeks to impose a penalty period for Medicaid home
care and community-based care.
Currently, there is no penalty period caused by the transfer of
assets when an application for community-based services is made. If passed, the proposed legislation will
also eliminate spousal refusal which is used when one person in a marriage
needs to enter a nursing home. These reforms would be great news for the LTC insurance industry –
and not so good for those attorneys’s who specialize in Medicaid
planning. For a complete copy of
this article please contact
us.
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MASS MUTUAL
ANNOUNCES SIGNATURE CARE 400
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Mass Mutual has announced their intentions to
file a new LTC product called
Signature Care 400. This series will
replace the current Signature Care 300 (except for CA – which is still
Signature Care 200). The premiums on
this new product will increase an average of 14% and for policies sold with
inflation the increase will be an average of 41%. The limited pay series with inflation
will increase an average of 38%. To
warrant these premium increases on the new product, Mass Mutual is looking
to add the following features:
monthly benefit for home care services, first day coverage for home
care benefit services, enhanced elimination period, improved waiver of
premium language, amongst other ancillary benefits. They are also making dramatic changes to
their Association Discount programs.
The bottom line is – SELL THE 300 SERIES TODAY! This new product is intended to roll-out
in the first quarter of 2005. Your
clients will be a year older, they may not be insurable in 2005 and over
90% of policies sold today will be significantly more expensive with the
400 Series. For more information
regarding Mass Mutual’s LTC, please contact us.
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PROFITS
CLIMB 243% AT MEDAMERICA
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MedAmerica Insurance Company’s
long-term care unit increased premium revenues 32 percent in 2003, going
from $65.6 million in 2002 to $86.5 million. MedAmerica’s profit
growth has been even more impressive, the company’s 2003 net income of $9.3
million showed a 243 percent increase from the $2.7 million it reported in
2002, officials said. MedAmerica is a for-profit unit of the non-profit
Lifetime Healthcare. The non-profit
Lifetime Healthcare is the parent of Execullus
Blue Cross Blue Shield, Rochester region and Blues plans
in Syracuse, Watertown, Utica and Rome as well the
Buffalo-based Univera Healthcare HMO. Acquisitions, as well as increased sales
have pushed revenues upward. The
company expanded their operations into all 50 states in 2003. MedAmerica also
bought some 17,000 contracts from ERC Long Term Care Solutions Inc., a
California-based unit of General Electric, adding some $14 million in
annualized premiums. MedAmerica is among the top 15 U.S. long-term care
insurers. Employer-provided plans
also have been a growth business for MedAmerica. Group enrollments account for nearly 50%
of its contracts. Six states,
including NY, offer MedAmerica long-term care
insurance as an employee benefit.
For more information about MedAmerica’s
Group LTC or their new Simplicity product please contact us.
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MILES
AWAY: THE METLIFE STUDY OF LONG
DISTANCE CAREGIVING
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The MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National
Alliance for Caregiving has recently released a
study “Caring for an Aging Loved One at a Distance Costs Much In Time,
Money and Hours on the Job”. This
study found that long-distance caregivers live an average of 450 miles and
7.2 hours away from the person for whom they provide care. Other study findings include: nearly three-quarters of respondents help
their loved one with instrumental activities of daily living like help
around the home, transportation, shopping and meal
preparation. Most long-distance
caregivers depend on a sibling who lives near the care recipient. Women are more likely than men to report
switching from full to part-time work and paid helpers were most important
to those long-distance caregivers who reported being the sole
caregiver. For a complete copy of
the study please contact
us.
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We at CCS are continually
looking for ways to keep our brokers up to date. If you’d like to send
comments or suggestions to make this newsletter better, please feel free to
contact us.
 
Debra A. Walker, LTCP, CLTC Karin
L. Wertheim, LTCP, CLTC
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C U S T O
M C A R E S O L U T I O N ,
L L C
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One Penn
Plaza, Suite 2035
New York, New York 10119
info@customcaresolution.com
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