I refuse to throw any more statistics at this. We have been walking out a
very long pier over troubled waters churning from our own lack of
preparation for the last quarter century. We have continued creeping
inflation with that never ending and very noisy parade led by medical
cost. We have a country where personal savings are inadequate by
anyone’s definition. We have the very soon to arrive Boomer Long Term
Care Claim Tsunami and the barometer is falling and the wind is blowing
harder as our beloved cohort begins to turn 80 for the next 20 years.
Caregiver shortages will begin to rock the political landscape. The
struggle to hold down or at least better manage Medicaid will dominate
the news for the foreseeable future. In a world in which one in five is a
Senior, needed care will be measured out from precious private
resources or severely discounted social safety nets. It is the disparity
between the two that will define the end of that pier. It was never built to
withstand a generation of missed opportunities, inferior construction
materials, lack of routine maintenance and neglect of critical
infrastructure. Why were so many unable to visualize the end of that
pier? Frequently in this column over the last 20 years I have written that
LTC is “America’s largest unprotected risk.” It was always just my opinion
shared of course with the corps of LTCI specialists and all those who
continue to make this critical retirement protection a routine component
of their practice. An umbrella and floaties will not provide adequate
protection.
So some speculation for enlightenment value. A little “now what might be
entertaining” in no particular order of significance:
● Care reserves will be rushed to the new tide of Boomer claims. The
disparity in those reserves will only reveal the difference between
retail quality care vs wholesale institutional care.
● Conversations about our fiduciary obligations past present and future
to provide balanced advice will bubble to the surface.
● Hopefully with the security of rate stabilization and the flexibility in
health rates and simplified underwriting provided by true group
structure some success may be regained at the worksite.
● Now based on NAIC guidance the Combo purpose world of Chronic
Illness and LTCI riders have become relatively equal in benefit
definitions, offering Add Ons must become a religion.
● It is time to realize that future sales will not focus on future claims but
on the “claim process” difficulties afflicting our past customers.
Truthfully probably it will be our best past LTCI sales that are
beginning to experience the joy of modern claim management. More
importantly there will now be an assembled cadre of adult children,
extended family, friends and loved ones who will be beginning to
step off that pier, some better prepared than others to get wet.
Regardless of preparation for the claim there is a huge unavoidable
life lesson from which to build sales.
● Some claims sail through the process without any backdraft. Others
do not. The paperwork is enormous, the frustration of administrative
delay when need for extra care is critical, meeting benefit eligibility,
90 day elimination certification, struggle with assignment of benefits
and an endless recertification process to maintain benefits can be
stressful for all concerned.
Remembering this is an opinion column and acknowledging openly that I
am currently doing consulting work for the company I am about to
recommend, I would preface by saying this same recommendation has
appeared in multiple insurance periodicals. It is imperative that you be
prepared with a relationship with a Senior Care Agency. One that has a
long history of working with the brokerage insurance community. One
that is prepared to help file claims, manage quality care and push all the
paper though claim management hurdles. One that has for a quarter
century provided the needed administrative assistance on a
complimentary basis. Knowledge, experience and a proven history of
helping many of us already.
Amada Senior Care simply leads in monitoring and demanding quality
care and peace of mind commitment for us and our clients.
Other than that I have no opinion on the subject.
