Last year, 350,000 Americans bought a long-term care insurance (LTCi) policy, and over 7 million people currently maintain a policy. This is a fairly low adoption rate given that there are over 80 million Americans who are age 55+. Recent data from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) reveals some interesting facts about [...]
Immigration has been a hot topic in the United States lately. Regardless of your opinions on this issue, there’s little dispute that our nation needs some type of immigration reform policy. But what people may not realize is how closely tied another looming nationwide challenge is to the immigration debate. That issue is our country’s [...]
Long-term care is generally defined as a range of supportive services needed to meet an individual’s personal care needs over an extended period of time. Often, long-term care is not medical care; instead, it is help with everyday personal tasks, sometimes referred to as activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), although [...]
In last week’s post, I highlighted a recent article that discussed the advice that caregivers of a family member who has Alzheimer’s disease would share with others who are newly embarking on this labor of love. Much of the advice centered around the emotional and financial challenges that caregiving can present and the need to [...]
The phrase “long-term care” refers to a spectrum of care services that people may need — sometimes including skilled nursing/medical care, but often non-medical help with the basic self-care responsibilities of everyday life, also known as activities of daily living (ADLs). This type of long-term care, also called assisted living, may include things like bathing, [...]
Although Medicare is usually thought of as coverage for hospital stays (Part A) and doctor visits (part B), it also has an application to senior living. When I speak to groups of people who are considering moving to a retirement community—specifically continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs)—I’m often asked how Medicare plays into the decision. [...]
The distinguishing—even defining—feature of a continuing care retirement community (CCRC, or life plan community) is contractually-provided access to a “continuum of care,” which typically includes independent living, assisted living, memory care, and/or skilled nursing care; each of these services is usually offered on-site (although not always). I wrote a blog post about the “continuum of [...]
Dementia is not one specific disease. Instead, it’s a general term used to describe a decline in mental capabilities, such as memory issues, that are severe enough to affect activities of daily living (ADLs). Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for around 70 percent of diagnoses, but there are other types too, [...]
When it comes to caring for an aging loved one, having family members by your side can be a tremendous help—mentally, physically, and financially. But there are also times when having to consider more than one opinion on an issue can cause great strife between relatives. We often see this challenge come up between adult [...]
Taxes have been a hot topic over the past few weeks and months as the president and GOP-controlled Congress try to push through changes that will impact millions of Americans—raising the tax bill for some while lowering it for others. If you’re like me, you may be trying to figure out which of these two [...]
