No Long-Term Care in Obamacare

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act as passed by Congress, also known as Obamacare, starts October 1st. But if you haven’t been following my posts, you may be shocked to learn that long-term care insurance is not part of the provisions.

Back on June 30, 2012, I announced that the CLASS Act entitlement was Obamacare's first casualty and a huge embarrassment. It was meant to be a voluntary long-term care insurance program that would have let Americans with health problems receive coverage. But the Administration’s beancounters discovered that the concept was impractical, so they quietly walked away from it.

To sum it up: You’re on your own when it comes to long-term care. Medicare has limited coverage. And you must be almost broke to qualify for Medicaid. My advice is to learn what options you have and come up with a strategy to follow in case your health, or that of a loved-one, changes.

Best wishes,

George

Long-Term Care Survey Yields Scary Findings

Bankers Life and Casualty recently conducted a survey about long-term care (LTC) costs. The result: 52% of the respondents said they expect Medicare to pick up the tab.

Scary because the truth is that Medicare generally doesn’t pay for nursing home or assisted living expenses.