Monday, June 27, 2011

National Family Caregiver Award Seeks Entries

Do you know a family caregiver deserving of $10,000 and the title of National Family Caregiver of the Year?

Homewatch CareGivers and the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) are proud to cosponsor the National Family Caregiver of the Year award, which was established to honor and recognize the strength and perseverance of family caregivers who dedicate their lives to the care of their loved ones. Homewatch CareGivers and NFCA share a common mission to provide support and resources to family caregivers.

The campaign is supported by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s executive director serves as a judge for the program. “We’re proud to work together to celebrate family caregivers and their inspirational stories,” Slome noted.

Nominaton Rules:

The nominations for the caregiver award must be submitted by a third party, such as a nurse, doctor, support group leader, friend or family member.

Nominations must be received by July 29, 2011.

The nominee must have provided care for this individual within the 12 months prior to July 29, 2011.

Local winners will be announced September 1, 2011. Local winners qualify for the National Family Caregiver of the Year Award $10,000 Grand Prize, to be notified on October 25, 2011.

Homewatch CareGivers will provide a donation of $5 to National Family Caregivers Association (not to exceed $5,000) for every valid, complete, unique nomination submitted via the web nomination form. (http://www.homewatchcaregivers.com/family-caregiver-award.aspx)

Local winners will receive a free day of respite care and a scholarship to Homewatch CareGivers University, which will give the educational foundation, skill set and confidence to continue this very important labor of love. Homewatch CareGivers University is a professionally developed caregiver training platform designed to train our caregiver employees, family members providing care, and the greater caregiver community.

Monday, June 20, 2011

500,000 Long-Term Care Insurance Applicants Expected

Over half a million Americans are expected to apply for long-term care insurance before the year concludes according to a projection from an industry trade group.

This marks significant continued growth in awareness and action among consumers explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. “In 2010 the Association reported that 475,000 Americans obtained long-term care insurance coverage either on an individual basis or through their employer an increase over the prior year.”

According to the projection, interest and sales continue to trend up which can be attributed to several factors. “Consumers in their 50s and young 60s are more aware than ever of the risks involved in living into their 80s and 90s,” Slome explains. “The millions of pre-retirees understand that government programs will not be sufficient to deal with the burgeoning number of aging baby boomers and that new federal programs will be more suited to those with existing health limitations.”

The Association director notes that significant growth in sales will result from the thousands of federal employees signing up for coverage through the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) where open enrollment closes June 24. “I would expect tens of thousands of newly covered individuals in the program with an equal number who searched and compared coverage on an individual basis,” Slome adds.

Over eight million Americans currently have long-term care insurance protection and roughly 200,000 received benefits from their coverage in 2010 according to the 2011 Long-Term Care Insurance Sourcebook. The majority (56 percent) of individual applicants are between the ages of 55 and 64. “People increasingly understand the need to look into this protection prior to retirement age,” Slome concludes. “That is when costs are more affordable and you are still most likely able to health qualify for coverage.”

Monday, June 13, 2011

First Long-Term Care Insurance Almanac Published

What percentage of adults over age 65 will need between 2 and 5 years of long-term care after age 65? [Answer: 20%]. What percentage of assisted living residents transfer to a skilled nursing facility? [Answer: 58.9%]. What are the two largest causes for women’s home health care claims on LTC insurance policies? [Answer: Arthritis at 18% and Alzheimer's at 17%].

A compilation of hundreds of facts, statistics and data compiled from numerous industry reports has been published in the first Long-Term Care Insurance Almanac And Book of Facts, made available from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org. The resource is intended to help insurance and financial professionals address the increasing number of questions raised by prospective clients and professionals who may refer clientele.

“As awareness grows so does the complexity of questions pertaining to long-term care and LTC insurance,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the Association. “We wanted one easy-to-use resource that an agent could leave with an inquiring prospect without having to do hours of research.”

The Long-Term Care Insurance Almanac divides information into six categories: Aging and Need, Home Health Care, Assisted Living, Nursing Home Care, Claims and Federal and State Protections. “Few, if any consumers considering long-term care insurance have heard of the State Guaranty Associations that exist for their protection,” Slome adds.

Much of the data comes from proprietary research conducted annually by the Association. “The rest comes from countless hours of reading detailed government studies and pulling the most relevant data that pertains to this field,” Slome notes. “While many acknowledge that inundating prospects with facts and figures isn’t an effective selling strategy, not being able to address questions with specific factual information will kill any chance of appearing as a knowledgeable expert,” Slome concludes. “The Almanac was created to remove that barrier.”

Monday, June 6, 2011

Pattern Predicts Dementia Onset And Long Term Care Need

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is “a condition in which a person has problems with memory, language, or another mental function severe enough to be noticeable to other people and to show up on tests, but not serious enough to interfere with daily life.” This type of mental state is considered a risk factor for dementia, the longest and most costly of all long-term care needs according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Some scientists studies have found that about 10 percent to 15 percent of those with MCI will progress to dementia each year. The new study which appears in the September issue of the Archives of Neurology, sought to deterine if telltale signs within MCI could determine those individuals who would progress more rapidly to full-blown dementia.

Researchers collected data on people with mild cognitive impairment and evaluated these individuals using brain scans and cognition tests. Over the next two years of follow-up, some 25 percent of the individuals did go on to develop dementia.

The researchers noted that if an older adult is starting to display problems in daily life, such as problems shopping independently, problems managing their own finances, problems performing household chores, and problems maintaining their hobbies, they are more likely to develop a dementia within several years.

Dr. Ronald C. Petersen, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., agreed that, despite the lack of effective treatments, spotting Alzheimer’s disease early remains important. “If people in the family start to recognize a change in memory/learning patterns, that might be sufficient to identify someone who could develop Alzheimer’s disease,” Peterson said. “Don’t wait until the person is having trouble driving, is having trouble paying their bills or having trouble functioning in the community — that’s dementia,” he said. “This study tells us that we can identify important symptoms earlier and it may be worthwhile doing so.”