The September 21, 2009 edition of amednews.com, the internet version of American Medical News, published by the American Medical Association, reported that the number of uninsured Americans increased by about 600,000 in 2008, despite government health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid enrolling about 1 million more people than they did the year before. Although.. read more →

According to a recent article in the August 24th edition of The Dallas Morning News, seniors battered by the tough economy are selling their life insurance policies to replenish their retirement nest eggs.  Unlike younger investors, older adults may not have the time to wait for the market to recover all of their losses, so.. read more →

When advising clients about how to plan for the possibility of needing long-term care, elder law attorneys generally put long-term care insurance (LTCI) at or near the top of the list of planning strategies, provided the clients can afford the coverage and are insurable. But are elder law attorneys walking the walk for themselves and.. read more →

New Jersey allows a deduction of medical expenses, including long-term care insurance premiums, to the extent that they exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. N.J. Stat. Sec. 54A:3-3 New York, on the other hand, provides a tax credit of 10% of the premiums for long-term care policies approved by the Superintendent of Insurance pursuant to.. read more →

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed earlier holdings that a conflict of interest exists in long term disability (LTD) cases when the same entity (such as an employer or an insurance company) determines whether an employee is eligible for benefits and also pays these benefits to the employee.  In metropolitan-life-insurance-company-v-glenn, 128 S.Ct. 2343 (2008), the.. read more →

(I previously blogged about life settlements here, but there’s much more to say about the subject. Thus, I asked my colleague,  Joel Kastin, an insurance broker, to contribute an article discussing life settlements, and he agreed to participate.  Joel is, therefore, my first guest blogger of 2009.  Joel Kastin has been a New Jersey licensed.. read more →

Attached is a one page summary of the tax benefits of tax-qualified long term care insurance for 2009, from the Corporation for Long Term Care Certification. The information is organized by type of taxpayer, so it is a quick reference for individuals or business owners. read more →

In a recent study, “Three Phases of Retirement and Planning for the Unexpected,” the Society Of Actuaries (SOA) identified three stages of retirement and offered advice on how to prepare for each stage of retirement. The SOA said that retirement is often depicted as life on the golf course, holidays with the grandchildren, and traveling.. read more →

Are you having difficulty keeping up premium payments on a life insurance policy, or do you no longer need the policy? Policyholders once had only two options: let the policy lapse or turn it in for a meager cash surrender value. Now there’s another, often vastly more lucrative alternative: sell the policy to a company.. read more →

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the maximum tax deduction that can be taken on qualified Long Term Care Insurance premiums in 2009. Maximum Deduction for Qualified LTCI Premiums Under Code 213(d)(10) Attained Age Before Close of Year 2008 2009 40 or less $310 $320 More than 40 but no more than 50 $580 $600.. read more →

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a new notice addressing the problems that occur when a Medicaid applicant purchases a long-term care insurance “partnership” policy in one state and then applies for Medicaid in another state. See, 73 Fed. Reg. 51302-51305 (2 Sept 2008), available here. The Deficit Reduction Act of.. read more →

Social Security statements now are advising recipients that Medicare does not cover long-term care expenses. The Social Security Administration recently changed the wording of its annual earnings statements at the direction of Congress to make it clear that individuals need to plan for the possibility they might eventually need long-term care. The new wording follows:.. read more →

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (“DRA”) authorized the expansion of the Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program into the various states. New Jersey’s Long Term Care insurance Partnership Program was approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on February 12, 2008 and will become effective on July 1, 2008. Under this.. read more →

This is not a new guide but I think it is still one of the best. It provides a solid understanding of long-term care insurance. For years, I have provided a copy of the guide to new clients along with draft copies of estate documents. Long-term care insurance is a critical component of estate and.. read more →