Golden Aging

Private insurance companies usually sells LTCI policies to offset the costs of long term care. LTCI, like all insurance policies, requires premiums to help recipients avoid paying large amounts of money in the event of an illness or an accident. Premiums are based on the individual’s age at the time of purchase and are usually locked in for the life of the policy. LTCI covers the following, {depending on the policy you choose: and is dependent on the policy that you choose:}

1.Care in a skilled nursing facility

2.Care in an assisted living facility

3.Home health care

4.Adult day health care

When buying a LTCI policy, it allows the policyholder to select from many options, such as the amount of the daily benefit, the number of years the policy will pay benefits, and, after the applicant qualifies for a policy, the number of months or days before the policy will begin paying benefits.

It’s very important to evaluate policies carefully to see which of them offers the benefits you require with a premium that fits your budget. Policies differ in their contract conditions, deductibles, benefits and deductibles. It is also important to take into account the rising cost of health care. Always make sure that the LTCI inflation protection for benefits to increase as health care costs continue to rise. Policies are generally labeled according to the place in which benefits are paid.

Take note that homecare only policies pay for care at home and in an adult day care or adult day health care facilities. Just make sure that the policy includes both types of day care. Facility-only policies pay for care in a skilled nursing facility and in a good assisted living facility. Comprehensive policies pay for care in a skilled nursing facility, assisted living facility, adult day care or adult day health care facility, and at home.

Since LTCI claims are always paid many years after the purchase of the policy, it is imperative to check the following:  The financial strength of the company. The industry’s major rating services are A.M. Best , Duff and Phelps, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Weiss Ratings . Claims and reputation pays the history of the company. Contact your State Insurance Department for more information on specific private insurance companies.

Applicant must be healthy at the time of application. Each insurance company has individual requirements and/or limitations. Not sure when is the right time for you to buy an LTCI policy? Or how to assess what you will need from a policy? Visit our Expert Column on Financing Long Term Care to find out more.

On Monday, the New York Times ran a very good story about Medicare Advantage Plans. Medicare Advantage Plans are a type of health plan sold by private insurance companies. The plans are associated with Medicare.  It seems that seniors across the country have been fooled into signing away their Medicare benefits by enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan. There were cases that the seniors did not have an idea how the Medicare Advantage Plans worked, and in others, they didn’t even know that the insurance agents had signed them up for the plan.

Most of the insurance companies that sell these long term care plans have been accused of several bad practices, including:

Deceptive marketing strategies that don’t make a clear distinction between Medicare and Medicare Advantage  The targeting of uninformed seniors in the low-income areas by pushy agents with hard-sell techniques  From outsourcing customer service up until overseas call centers, whose employees have substandard knowledge of the complex Medicare system.  Insurance agencies with Medicare Advantage Plans undergo a greater amount of scrutiny than they have in the past, and it seems to be helping at least a little. Kerry N. Weems, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says, ” There are substantially fewer violations, and many of those violations are of substantially lower severity than in previous marketing periods. “

Medicare Advantage programs can help some of the customers to finance their long term care, but these plans are not for everyone. There are some important factors that need to be considered before signing up for any type of Medicare Advantage Plan. Here, a few of the most essential issues:
Make sure your doctor(s) and local hospital are within the insurance company’s network of providers.  Medigap policies become null and void once you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you already have a Medigap policy, you will need to cancel it once the coverage begins with a Medicare Advantage Plan to avoid paying twice.

Medicare Advantage plans vary greatly. You are giving up all rights to your existing Medicare policy, so remember to pick a plan that will meet your future continuous care needs as well as your current ones.  Read the fine print. This is an important decision, so don’t be in a hurry!  We live in a society where the buyer must beware. If you want, call your parents tonight! Make sure they know about the issues surrounding Medicare Advantage Plans. That phone call could be the one thing that saves them from making;or worse yet, being pushed into;a decision that isn;t right for them. You don;t even want to think about the alternative!

Long term care insurance is a very good financial protection option for anyone who has enough assets to protect and can comfortably afford the premiums. It can help ensure that all of the effort and time you have spent on acquiring a sufficient retirement income is not lost due to the rising costs of long-term care. There are several specific advantages for couples purchasing long-term care insurance. Take a look at this: most often, the healthier spouse acts as the primary caregiver.

If long-term care insurance did not exist, the healthy spouse often takes on the bulk of caregiving duties, just to try avoiding the expensive costs associated with either in home care or institutional care. Eventually, this can leave the caregiver almost as ill as his or her spouse. LTCI or long term care insurance helps provide the necessary funds so that the healthy spouse can ensure that quality and expert care is given for the ill spouse while not further endangering his or her own health.

Will We Save Money? Couples can even save money on the purchase of long-term care insurance, as all major carriers will discount the cost of a policy by thirty to forty percent when both spouses are on the same policy. This can result in significant cost savings for married couples. The great news is that even those who may not be married but have lived with someone else with whom they are in a committed relationship for more than a year may also receive the same discount for long-term care insurance.

What Should We Do If One of Us is Declined? If one spouse is good for a polisy however the other may have a significant health issue that preclude him or her from qualifying for long-term care insurance, this does not mean that the couple should decline coverage for the healthy spouse. Long-term care insurance is still an advantage for this couple because no one knows which spouse will need long-term care first. If there is or was a major reversal of health for the previously healthy spouse, the one who had health issues originally would be in an even more disadvantaged position as a caregiver.

In this case, long-term care insurance would provide the funds needed for great quality care without damaging the health of the other spouse who was declined for the long-term care insurance policy. It would not be reasonable to forego health insurance for one spouse simply because the other cannot qualify for a major medical plan. The same is true for  continuous care insurance. It may be disappointing that both cannot be covered, but the financial risks for each of them are still prevalent and should not be ignored.

Recently, I wrote about selecting a daily benefit for your long term care insurance (LTCI) policy. Making sure that you start your policy with a daily benefit amount that matches the current cost of continuous care is vitally important. But there are a couple of additional steps you’ll need to take if you want to be sure that the buying power of your policy benefits do not erode over time. Inflation constantly chips away at the true value of LTCI benefits. This means that a daily benefit which is adequate this year may be seriously insufficient when you actually need the care several years from now. That is the reason why LTCI policies typically offer some form of inflation protection to help ensure that your policy benefits will continue to keep pace with rising costs of the industry.

What are the options for inflation protection? Inflation protection choices offered to policyholders can vary greatly from one carrier to another. But there are two options that are almost universally used by the majority of insurance companies: a 5% compound option and a 5% simple inflation protection option. Compounding interest will have a dramatically greater effect on the amount of total benefits available to you over a long period of time. Most of the investors know that in order to see the true effects of compounded interest, you need to be patient;as it can take several years to become readily apparent. This is also true of inflation protection in LTCI policies.

How do I decide which choice will work best for me? Generally speaking, the more you wait to access the policy benefits, the more compound interest will benefit you. A lot of people seem to access their policy benefits after the age of eighty. Let’s say a person, who is fifty years old, could have thirty years or more before needing care. But on the other hand, a person who is 65 may not see as much benefit from compounded interest. Another factor to consider is the how fast the cost of care has increased in the state where you plan to retire. Some states in the South have historically had much lower costs of long term care than other parts of the country. Some of the other states, especially those in the Northeast, have had regular and significant increases in the cost of care. One great place to start is with Genworth Financial’s interactive map, which shows the state averages for costs of care across the United Sates. The figures include nursing home, assisted living, home health care and home care costs. One cost-effective option is to raise the daily benefit along with simple inflation protection. This gives your benefits an initial head start and pushes the break-even point between simple and compound interest farther out on your timeline.

The Bottom Line: Weigh Your Options First. Since the idea of compounding costs more than a simple inflation protection, it’s a good idea to ask for quotes on both to see how each choice affects your premium. A good LTCI consultant will be happy to work with you as you choose the inflation protection that will work best for you. There are no hard and fast rules in this area of policy design, but a healthy dollop of common sense and reason will usually help you make the right decision for your unique situation.

The New York Times have just published an article entitled, ” Caring for the Caregivers ” and while I read the piece, I shook my head a few times thinking about the implications of the article and what I know from my perspective in the eldercare industry. One of the first things I learned in this business is that when it is feasible, most people want to age in place, meaning live in their homes with whatever help, be it homecare and/or technology, they need for as long as they can. America’s aging population is increasing and there is also an ongoing shortage of homecare aides to help this burgeoning group do what they want, which is to stay comfortably in their own homes.

But, as the article pointed out:

” According to the Labor Department, personal and home care aides are expected to be the second fastest-growing occupation in the United States from 2006–2016, increasing by 51 percent, slightly behind the expected growth in systems and data communications analysts. “

And who exactly are these people who come into the home to care for your parents? The NY Times article points it out succinctly, ” most home care aides are women, low income and minority, and many of them are immigrants. ” And although ,some states have taken steps to provide them with basic labor protections, most of these women work for agencies that under the existing federal guidelines are allowed to mark them as companions, leaving them with no rights to overtime and minimum wages. This is not to say all agencies take advantage of this fact, there are many that have realized the efficiency of low-staff turnover and treating their workers accordingly. This sector of healthcare is growing rapidly and yet many of its workers are not protected. And they should be, because they are the backbone of the aging in place movement; the ones supporting and tending to the needs of our elders in their homes.  So, what is being done to solve this issue?

Right now the Service Employees International Union are now working to unionize homecare workers in every state. Washington and Montana have unionized homecare workers, while here in California, there is still in-fighting ongoing between the unions. Many have voiced the opinion that new legislation has to be passed by the Labor Department to offer greater federal protection for homecare workers. I truly believe that this is one surefire way to keep these workers happy and safe. (Yep, that’s a nudge, President Obama, but I do realize you are very busy these days.) In the end, it all circles back to quality of care. Happy, well-paid, well-trained workers who work for agencies with low turnover are, and will always be, the ones delivering the highest quality of long term care to our mothers, fathers and possible even us one day.

Pregnancy, what a special time for women.Well, except for the sickness.But beyond that, the new baby coming is an exciting expectation.

Usually, for women in general, the question of how you are going to have the baby isn’t that big.Because for most women they will choose the standard procedure which is the medical procedure which means hospitals, doctors, and drugs.

But for a few women, they do have an alternative.That alternate way is going through a midwife and having the baby naturally.  And it is that alternative I am going to share from my experience as a San Diego midwife.

For those that don’t know, midwives are women who perform natural, no drugs, deliveries.  This means usually no doctors.

Often times midwives in San Diego perform these services at homes.  Although, maybe all this is foreign to most people, it is a safe and regulated alternative way to deliver a baby.

The women, or midwives who practice this service are fully regulated.They can be licensed midwives or certified midwives that have a regulatory board that oversees them. 

Sometimes the midwife can be a nurse, but that doesn’t have to be the case. 

This form of delivery is an option a lot of women choose and includes waterbirth in San Diego. Most of the time this choice is made by women who prefer not to have any drugs during delivery so that they can keep the new baby away from drugs.Also it is going to be for some women who don’t want invasive procedures.

Well when you are making decisions as big as how you are going to deliver, you obviously want them to be the right choices.  With anything, you want to make sure you pick the right person.

As previously mentioned, it is a highly regulated industry. With that being the case, finding a good midwife who is licensed or certified is easy. 

All you are going to need to do is get the contact information for your state regulatory board that oversees midwifery and you can easily find out if there have been any complaints or issues with your prospective midwife.

Something as simple as this step will help you determine if this is a midwife you can trust.It is still obvious that even though there are no complaints or reports about your midwife, you still want to verify some references. 

You want to find someone who has clients that only speak highly of them.  With something as intimate and important as a delivery following these few steps will help you find the right midwife for your delivery.

An Introduction to traditional Chinese Medicine

Balancing the mind body and spirit is essential to the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is definitely a positive benifit in using Traditional Chinese Medicines. Far more than is the case with using traditional medicines. 

Many Options To Choose From

To treat a particular condition, you need to have an understanding of the various treatment options with Traditional Chines Medicine. Western medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine are not based on the same ideals, Western Medicine deals with treating symptoms only, whereas traditional Chinese Medicine is based in treating the underlying causes of the condition. With the help of Traditional Chinese herbal medicine however practitioners attempt to remove imbalances through application of complicated combinations of different herbs and certain plant extracts.

There are in fact a variety of herbs that are used in Traditional Chinese herbal medicine. There are many different combinations used for example - Siberian ginseng and eleuthero and also ginkgo and astralagus and ginseng and green tea. Such combinations can prevent and also treat various hormonal disturbances and infections.Not to mention many other different ailments including breathing disorders such as asthma.

In the practice of traditional Chinese medicine, there are some practitioners that claim they can help to prevent cancer and failing prevention can effectively treat the disease. However, they do stop short of claiming that Traditional Chinese herbal medicine can cure cancer. Nevertheless claim that such medicines are able to provide several health benefits including controlling pain and improving the overall quality of life. As well as improving the functioning of the immune system.

If you are living in Texas and you are looking for a good Traditional Chinese Medicine school then you need to check out the Texas College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is in fact the first school to teach Traditional Chinese Medicine in Texas and it is certainly a school that has done much to educate people about this particular form of medicine.

To find out more about Chinese Medicine visit ChineseMedicineAndAcupuncture.com.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

In regard to studying Chinese herbal medicine it must be said that these herbal medicines are far different than traditional Western medicines. In treatment, concept and also diagnosis. Whereas Western medicines deal with removing symptoms Chinese herbal medicine looks at the problem in a more holistic manner. Western medicine is focused on merely eliminating the individual symptoms, whereas Chinese Medicine tries to deal with the underlying causes.

A Foreign Ideal?

Chinese herbal medicines are used based on the underlying causes of the disease and this concept is quite alien to most Western medicine professionals.Chinese herbal medicine is as mentioned, based on treating illnesses and problems in a holistic manner rather than on a case by case basis. The emotional and physical being are considered intertwined and there is more of a emphasis on this connection. 

Chinese herbal medicine is believed to be able to treat such diseases such as emphysema. Furthermore, it has also been found that by combining Chinese herbal medicine with traditional Western medicines patients can be treated admirably well for their diseases. Some of which can even be very serious diseases. 

There is a lot of clinical testing going on around the world at the moment on Chinese herbs, just to see how effective they are in a clinical environment. Also how safe they are in curing some of the most serious diseases in the world. Of course, in case a patient takes Chinese herbal medicine for a week without noticing any significant improvements in their conditions; they must consult a practitioner. They may in turn may need to tailor the medicines so that desirable results are more forthcoming.

Ancient Chinese herbal medicine dates back many thousands of years to China where it was commonly used to treat patients suffering from a variety of diseases. Over time, these practices have not been diluted or disproved and in fact their influence has even spread to the West where it has become an alternative medicine with a considerable numbers of people opting to get treated in this way instead of by the traditional Western medicines.

Visit ChineseMedicineAndAcupuncture.com to learn more about Chinese Medicine.

Planning for long term care is complicated. Each person’s needs are unique, therefore, the cost of long-term care varies greatly. Some social and physical assistance is available for free or at a low cost, while very expensive nursing home or home health facilities can have an expense of $200 per day or maybe even more. There are many different ways to finance long-term care. You may need to use a combination of payment sources, which may include Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care insurance and other programs, in addition to your own resources.

It is essential to consult a professional such as an elder law attorney, financial planner or an accountant when planning for long-term care, this person should be well versed in estate planning, public programs like Medicaid, and issues and the needs of senior citizens. These long term care professionals often work as a team. Gilbert Guide recommends getting a second opinion before making any final decision especially on financial matters. Check out our Learning Centers and Expert Columns where our long-term care assistants will point you in the right direction, raising awareness of the issues you need to know about when planning for your future.

Here are some of the many ideas available to reimburse for senior care (Click on the links below to see what else is covered outside of long-term care.)  Medicare, which for long-term care, covers some skilled nursing care either in a nursing home or in the home along with hospice care.  Medicaid, the partially federally funded, but state-operated program provides medical care for some small income people and families with limited resources. Medicaid usually covers nursing home care, however for some certain states, funding is available for assisted living, homecare or home health care.

Medigap, which are policies available to Medicare, A & B enrollees who are not Medicaid recipients can sign up for and covers some nursing home care.  Managed Care (HMO) provide enhanced services for nursing home care which is above Medicare’s basic offering along with additional medical assistance outside of long-term care. Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) actually covers everything, from non-medical homecare to nursing care; however, it depends on the type of policy you purchased. Veterans Benefits will cover adult day health care, home health care, respite care and hospice care.

Have you ever heard about Resveratrol-based products and how it can help people defend themselves from all types of viral attacks including the dreaded new virus strain called Influenza A (H1N1) virus? You might have already heard all about it but don’t you know it can also help delay the effects of aging? According to a Resveratrol review, Resveratrol products are now very much in-demand when it comes to strengthening the immune system and this is the only key to a person’s survival whenever he finds himself a victim of viral attacks. Resveratrol supplements doesn’t actually cure people from viral attacks like the Influenza A (H1N1) virus but it will help them in preventing the attack by boosting up the immune system.

Everybody knows the benefits when drinking a glass or two of their favorite red wine, right? You protect yourself from heart problems, from poor blood circulation, from hypertension and other diseases including viral attacks and it’s all because of Resveratrol. A Resveratrol dosage a day is just like drinking a glass or two of red wine but without the tipsy-tipsy feeling and you still get the health benefits and it’s all because of Resveratrol. There are lots of kinds of fruits that has Resveratrol but of all fruits, grapes are the ones with the greatest concentration of Resveratrol which can be found mostly on the rinds or skins of grapes and these rinds are the ones being used to make red wine.

There are many Resveratrol benefits that you can get from taking products with this natural antibiotic compound so long as the product that you have chose is not scam or t6otal rip off. To make sure it’s not, read some reviews first of the top products and these reviews can come from testimonies of different people who have greatly benefited from taking or consuming Resveratrol-based products.