Monthly Archives: March 2013

Long term care insurance: If you’re a woman, be prepared to pay more!

Over ten million people have purchased long term care insurance, primarily to cover healthcare expenses that may occur in old age or during catastrophic illness.

Up until now, this insurance usually treated men and women equally.  Policy price depended on health status and age, not gender.

But this year, long term care insurance companies have indicated that they are going to start charging women more for their policies.  One of the first companies to introduce this new type of pricing is Genworth Financial Inc., purported to be the largest seller of insurance in the United States.  Their goal is to reflect statistical realities.  Women live longer than men and prepare more effectively for their futures by buying long term care policies.

According to Genworth, two thirds of its long term care payouts go to women, even though, in 2011, women only bought about 57% of its policies.  Women live longer than men and have higher rates of disability and chronic health problems.

So this spring, if their proposed plan is approved by regulatory agencies, Genworth will introduce gender specific policy pricing.  For women, that will boost the cost of a new policy by 20 to 40%, depending on age and benefit package selected.

A Genworth spokesperson said that the new pricing will only affect women applying on their own.  Lower rates will still be offered to married couples who purchase joint coverage and the changes won’t affect current policy holders.

For more information about long term care, go to www.diesmart.com.

 

Nursing Home: If your parent needs one, will you have to pay the bill?

This is a true and shocking story.  John Pittas was ordered by a Pennsylvania court to pay his mother’s $92,943.41 nursing home bill under a filial support law.  The filial support law states that certain family members are liable for the care, maintenance and financial support of some other indigent members of that family.  It’s a law that’s been around since colonial times in one form or another.  Several states have abolished it but 29 have not.

John’s mother entered the Liberty Nursing Rehabilitation Center in Allentown, PA and spent about six months there after breaking two legs in an auto accident in September 2007. 

In March 2008, his mother, who was born in the United States, relocated to Greece where two other children live.

As the only family member still living in this country, Pittas was sued for payment of the huge bill.  The owners of the nursing home sued him for the money and a 2011 court trial was decided in the nursing home’s favor.

If his mother’s Medicaid application had been approved prior to the accident, this never would have happened.  Medicaid would have paid.  Last year, Pittas appealed but the Superior Court of Pennsylvania once again ruled in favor of the nursing home.

If you have an aging parent who may one day need nursing home care, what can you do to avoid having the same problem as John Pittas?

1) Talk with your parent about his or her financial resources.  If your parent is reluctant to have this discussion, relate John Pittas’ story.  It’s better to have a plan prior to an accident or other health crisis.

2) If your parent has limited resources, find out whether that parent is eligible for Medicaid.   If so, get your parent to apply immediately so that it will be available when needed.

3) If your parent is not eligible, sit down with all the members of your immediate family and talk about which family members can provide care or financial aid in case it is needed.

Don’t delay.  Put a plan in place today so that you won’t suddenly receive an unexpected bill for $93,000 or more.

For more information about planning for long term care and Medicaid, go to www.diesmart.com.

Turn into a Tree after You Die!

By 2025, it is estimated that more than 50% of all the people who die in the United States will be cremated. Gerard Moline, a Catalan artist and product designer, has come up with a very creative solution for what to do with the ashes. He has patented the design for the Bios Urn.  It is a biodegradable urn made from coconut shell, compacted peat and cellulose and inside it contains the seed of a tree. Once the deceased’s ashes have been placed into the urn, it can be planted and then the seed germinates and begins to grow.

What do you think? Would you like to leave behind a tree as your legacy?
For more information about funeral planning, cremation and burial, go to www.diesmart.com.