Skip to main content
Tag

skilled nursing care

Feb 06
Love0

The Collapse of Private Long Term Care Insurance

By News

A Cautionary Tale of the Long Term Care Insurance Marketplace

By 2050, the U.S. will have almost 90 million people aged 65 and over, and more than half will need long-term care at some point. Yet only a sliver of that group can afford long term care insurance. As of 2015, private insurance covered less than 10 percent of U.S. spending on long-term care — and the private market has been shrinking.

Medicare covers only a short period of care after a person has been hospitalized. That leaves Medicaid, the state-administered program for long term care. The paperwork involved is a protracted ordeal, especially for those with physical and mental impairments, and the rules to qualify are strict and complex.

The reality is – the private insurance market is on life support so understanding Medicaid is critical. Schedule an appointment to learn the rules.

Nothing illustrates this more than General Electric and its Long Term Care Products. The company’s troubles with long-term-care insurance show the challenge of caring for an aging population.

Insurance Policy

Long-Term Care Insurance Policies have hurt many insurance companies balance sheets.

General Electric’s multi-billion-dollar loss in a unit that sold long-term-care insurance is a blow from which the iconic company is still reeling. But it’s also a harbinger of a much greater challenge for society at large: paying to care for the growing number of Americans who can’t look after themselves.

GE’s travails stem from the early 1990s, when insurance companies began developing a new line of business, offering policies that, in return for regular premium payments, would cover the cost of a nursing home or other long-term care if the need arose. With the baby-boom generation approaching retirement, sales took off. By 2007, some 7 million policies were in force, generating almost $10 billion a year in premiums.

The insurers miscalculated. Claimants lived longer than expected — perhaps because people prudent enough to buy the insurance were more careful about staying healthy. But longer lives meant more people needing long-term care. Medical costs rose, and investment returns fell short. To cover their obligations, companies had to increase premiums (as far as regulators allowed) and, like GE, take big charges against earnings. Penn Treaty was forced into liquidation, leaving policy holders to rely on meager state guaranty funds.

Tempting as it may be to blame regulators, that wouldn’t be fair. True, they could have allowed more premium increases sooner, and they should always demand that companies have ample equity to absorb losses. They’ll need to investigate GE’s accounting. But new insurance products are inherently risky, and companies are bound to make mistakes. Officials shouldn’t be expected to catch risks that actuaries can’t foresee.

Rather, the debacle illustrates a troubling truth: Private insurance can’t handle this problem by itself.

Understanding the rules as to the Medicaid program is critical for all persons. Failure to anticipate long term care nursing costs can wipe out an entire lifetime of savings. Call us to discuss how to protect your lifetime savings while still qualifying for Medicaid.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ON BLOOMBERG.

Aug 17
Love0

Higher health-insurance rates coming to R.I. for 2018

By Uncategorized

Health-Insurance rate increases

A number of Rhode Island health-insurance companies have been granted permission for double-digit rate increases to their premiums for 2018.

The new rates released Thursday by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner range from increases of 5 percent to 12.1 percent. In six of 12 cases, the rates app

Insurance Policy

roved are less than the increases requested by the insurance companies. Collectively, the 2018 premium approvals are $16.7 million lower than what insurance companies requested.

The rate increases approved for the individual market, which covers roughly 47,000 people, are: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 12.1 percent; Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, 5 percent.

The rate increases approved for small-group market, which covers roughly 60,000 people, are: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 7.3 percent; Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, 6.3 percent; United HealthCare HMO, 8.1 percent; United HealthCare PPO, 8.1 percent; Tufts Health Plan HMO, 6 percent; Tufts Health Plan PPO, 6.5 percent.

The rate increases approved for the large-group market, which covers roughly 123,000 people, are: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 10 percent; United HealthCare, 8 percent; Tufts Health Plan HMO, 9.8 percent; Tufts Health Plan PPO, 10.4 percent.

Having health insurance is the first step in the process of planning for medical issues and paying for your care to address those issues. However, health insurance is only one piece in the health care planning puzzle. People need to be aware that health insurance does not pay for every health related expense. One major expense it does not pay for is nursing home care, or skilled nursing care. These medical expenses are not covered by health insurance and should you or a loved one find yourself in a position to need to reside in a facility, many are overwhelmed with the financial burden it imposes. Thus planning your estate and planning for these expenses is critical. Call us to discuss how you can plan for these expenses.

Source: Higher health-insurance rates coming to R.I. for 2018

Sep 14
Love0

Medicare and Skilled Nursing Facility Care

By Uncategorized

Skilled nursing facility (SNF) care

How often is it covered?

Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) covers skilled nursing care provided in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) under certain conditions for a limited time.

Medicare-covered services include, but aren’t limited to:

*Medicare covers these services if they’re needed to meet your health goal.

Note

Medicare covers swing bed services in certain hospitals and when the hospital or critical access hospital (CAH) has entered into a “swing-bed” agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under which the facility can “swing” its beds and provide either acute hospital or SNF-level care, as needed. When swing beds are used to furnish SNF-level care, the same coverage and cost-sharing rules apply as though the services were furnished in a SNF.

If you’re in a SNF but must be readmitted to the hospital, there’s no guarantee that a bed will be available for you at the same SNF if you need more skilled care after your hospital stay. Ask the SNF if it will hold a bed for you if you must go back to the hospital. Also, ask if there’s a cost to hold the bed for you.

Medicare-InsuranceWho’s eligible?

People with Medicare are covered if they meet all of these conditions:

Your doctor may order observation services to help decide whether you need to be admitted to the hospital as an inpatient or can be discharged. During the time you’re getting observation services in the hospital, you’re considered an outpatient—you can’t count this time towards the 3-day inpatient hospital stay needed for Medicare to cover your SNF stay. Find out if you’re an inpatient or an outpatient.

Here are some common hospital situations that may affect your SNF coverage:

Situation Is my SNF stay covered?
Example #1 You came to the Emergency Department (ED) and were formally admitted to the hospital with a doctor’s order as an inpatient for 3 days. You were discharged on the 4th day. Yes. You met the 3-day inpatient hospital stay requirement for a covered SNF stay.
Example #2 You came to the ED and spent one day getting observation services. Then, you were formally admitted to the hospital as an inpatient for 2 more days. No. Even though you spent 3 days in the hospital, you were considered an outpatient while getting ED and observation services. These days don’t count toward the 3-day inpatient hospital stay requirement.

Remember, any days you spend in a hospital as an outpatient (before you’re formally admitted as an inpatient based on the doctor’s order) aren’t counted as inpatient days. An inpatient stay begins on the day you’re formally admitted to a hospital with a doctor’s order. That’s your first inpatient day. The day of discharge doesn’t count as an inpatient day.

Note

If you refuse your daily skilled care or therapy, you may lose your Medicare SNF coverage. If your condition won’t allow you to get skilled care (like if you get the flu), you may be able to continue to get Medicare coverage temporarily.

Your costs in Original Medicare

You pay:

  • Days 1–20: $0 for each benefit period.
  • Days 21–100: $161 coinsurance per day of each benefit period.
  • Days 101 and beyond: all costs.
Note

If you stop getting skilled care in the SNF, or leave the SNF altogether, your SNF coverage may be affected depending on how long your break in SNF care lasts.

  • If your break in skilled care lasts more than 30 days, you need a new 3-day hospital stay to qualify for additional SNF care. The new hospital stay doesn’t need to be for the same condition that you were treated for during your previous stay.
  • If your break in skilled care lasts for at least 60 days in a row, this ends your current benefit period and renews your SNF benefits. This means that the maximum coverage available would be up to 100 days of SNF benefits.
Note

Your doctor or other health care provider may recommend you get services more often than Medicare covers. Or, they may recommend services that Medicare doesn’t cover. If this happens, you may have to pay some or all of the costs. It’s important to ask questions so you understand why your doctor is recommending certain services and whether Medicare will pay for them.

MJL-Blog-Footnote-1

Dec 22
Love0

Who Receives Skilled Nursing Care and Where in Rhode Island?

By Uncategorized

Skilled Nursing Care Demographics in Rhode Island

Nearly 8,000 people reside in Rhode Island’s 84 nursing homes and skilled nursing care facilities at any single point in time.

They are mostly independent facilities (60.7%), although a large minority belong to a multi-facility organization (39.3%). Nearly eight in 10 (78.6%) RI nursing homes are for-profit.

Residents are predominantly female (72.1%) and non-Hispanic white (93.4%).

More than half (55.5%) are aged 75 or older.

In 2012, RI nursing home costs averaged $8,517 per month for a shared room and $9,277 per month for a private room. Source: Rhode Island Journal of Medicine: The Nuts and Bolts of Long-Term Care in Rhode Island: Demographics, Services and Costs (March 2015)

WHAT ABOUT BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE CARE AT HOME UNDER THE MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAM?

Rhode Island has a program called SSI Enhanced Assisted Living Program that provides up to approximately $1,200 / month to be put toward the cost of assisted living. However, this is not a Medicaid program. RI does have a Medicaid program called RIte @ Home which offers 24/7 personal care in a residential environment but not in assisted living communities. Finally, the state’s Home and Community Care Medicaid Waiver also covers assisted living.

NursingHome

Nursing Home Demographics

Elderly Rhode Island residents can receive a variety of care services and support through the Home and Community Care Program. This program is intended as an alternative to nursing homes.  The services are provided to individuals living at home or “in the community”. By the rules of the program, “in the community” includes assisted living residences. The benefits of the program are designed to support individuals at home. This program provides adult day care, in-home care, meal delivery services and medical alert services.

This program is under the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs and is funded through a combination of state and federal monies.

Want to learn more about how nursing home skilled nursing and the Waiver Program may impact you and your family? Contact our office for a free consultation.

MJL Blog Footnote

 

Close Menu