"WHAT HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATIONS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE!"

When a disaster like a hurricane strikes, the news media is saturated with stories reporting billions of dollars in damage and the impact it will have on the insurance industry. If not for insurance, many home and business owners would be financially wiped out.

Yet there is little attention paid to the future cost of one of the largest financial disasters facing the country—and the role played by insurance. What is this coming financial disaster? The future cost of long term care.

The fact is, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), insurers reported actual cumulative ‘incurred’ claims of $11.1 Billion through the year 2000. In 2002 and for the first time in history, over 1 Billion was paid in claims for a single year, an amount expected to grow as policyholder’s age. A more recent study from the number one Long Term Care insurer reports over 2.3 Billion in claims paid, a figure that grows by over 1 Million per day.

I’ve spoken with many Health Care Administrators about Long Term Care Insurance, and have received mixed results. This is not surprising since at last count there were over 100 companies offering Long Term Care Insurance; however, the top three companies issued over 50 percent of all premiums collected. The bottom line is that some companies are better than others at insuring this risk and paying claims in a timely manner.

Some helpful hints in choosing Wisconsin Long Term Care insurance should include the following:

1-Buy when you are young, because the premiums are locked in at your current age; however, most companies can raise rates if they do so by class and in a given state. Also, the younger you are when you purchase, the better your chances of getting a policy issued because of health underwriting.

2-Buy Wisconsin Long Term Care Insurance through the top companies that have experience in this marketplace. These companies are more likely to be around later to pay your claim.

3-Use a Wisconsin Long Term Care specialist to shop around for the best deals among the top companies. An independent Wisconsin Long Term Care Specialist can represent several companies, unlike a career or captive agent who is bound to sell you just one company’s product.

4-Read the NAIC Shoppers Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance. This guide is published by the oldest association of state government officials consisting of the chief insurance regulators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. Territories. This guide will act as a source to answer most of the questions posed by consumers and provides many more shopping tips to aid in this often-complicated decision. Please see this link to request your free NAIC Shoppers Guide to Long Term Care Insurance: https://external-apps.naic.org/insprod/Consumer_info.jsp

What role can you play? Promote education and awareness to those who can still plan for long-term care. Have your admission directors talk to the family members and responsible parties and ask them what their plans are in the event they will need long term care. Do they have Wisconsin Long Term Care Insurance? They will be more likely to consider this planning option once they have experienced the issues dealing with long term care with a family member.

The bottom line is that Wisconsin Long Term Care Insurance is good for you and your loved one. A Good policy will enable your loved one to remain private pay for their entire long term care stay. The families will not have to deplete their assets and depend on Medicaid to pay for their loved ones care. The end result is that the facility will have more private pay residents, a win-win for the resident and the long-term care industry.