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Simplifying Long Term Care Planning

long term care

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance Simplifying Long Term Care Planning When it comes to long term care planning, there are 3 major questions to answer: 1) Who will provide your long term care? 2) How will they be paid? 3) Is the plan funded? Let’s examine each question: Who will provide your long term care? It may seem like a funny question to some, but do you know the name of the person who will provide your care when the need arises? Is it your spouse, your child, or perhaps a trained nurse’s aide? The issue at hand is the […]

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Home Alone?

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance When you imagine needing long term care, what do you imagine? Is the location a larger building, perhaps an assisted living facility, where responsibilities such as yard care and cooking are someone else’s concern? Or are you in your own home, tended to by paid caregivers, with visits from family and friends? Perhaps you will you be home alone, with a little (or a lot of) help from technology? An article in the June 2018 issue of “The Elderly Report,” a newsletter for lawyers, actually had me thinking about how technology may help with […]

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Transparency Regarding Long Term Care Financing

couple on laptop

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance In terms of valuable life skills, it’s good to know how important (read: expensive) decisions are financed. We’re all familiar with the need to buy, or rent, a place to live. We know the responsibilities of purchasing or leasing a new car. And for those with children, we are taught to help save for their college education since their birth. But what about long term care? Most people are unfamiliar with the answer to this one. Even if they do have an answer, they may not realize that it can be different depending on the […]

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A New Twist on Filial Laws

mother with daughter

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance Parents are used to financially supporting their minor-age children. However, most adults don’t give a second thought to the possibility of being legally obligated to support their parents. Welcome to the topic of filial support laws. These laws impose a duty upon a third party, often adult children, to support their impoverished parents or other relatives. About half the states have filial support laws on the books. What if your state doesn’t have filial laws currently? Well, that’s no guarantee that it won’t pass them sometime soon. It doesn’t matter what the law is today, […]

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“Braking” Breaking News: Long Term Care Insurance

women in hospital bed

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance We all know that breaking news is pretty synonymous with breaking bad news. OK, usually with very bad news. After all, as the saying goes, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Ouch! Controversy, both real and manufactured, grabs our attention, sells newspapers, and garners views on digital devices. Informed or Distorted? It takes vigilance on behalf of the media, as well as ourselves, to avoid crossing a very important line. The line between becoming informed vs. distorting our perspective. Consider the topic of risk. What risk is perceived (and perhaps distorted) vs. what is real? This […]

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Long Term Care Planning… and Love

three generations of family

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance What’s the sentiment at the heart of long term care planning? No, it’s not fear. (Of care costs or gaps in Medicare.) It’s not even concern. (About medical conditions or Medicaid eligibility.) I’m talking about love. Yes, I know Valentine’s Day is in the rear view mirror. That’s OK. The kind of love I’m talking about transcends flowers and cards. Consider the motivation that causes a young parent to purchase their first large life insurance policy. The motivation? Love. Love for the other parent, were something unexpected to happen– and, of course, love for the […]

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Long Term Care Planning: Dramatic Differences Between Short Term Planning vs. Long Term Planning

elderly couple holding hands

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance It’s sad but true: by the time most people realize they wish they had a long term care insurance policy, they are too sick or old to buy one. So, in an effort to mitigate the crushing financial toll long term care will have with no planning, many of them end up doing short-term planning– let’s call it crisis planning. Crisis planning isn’t about optimal strategies. It’s all about limiting the financial destruction and trying to make up for the fact that no real plan for how to pay for care is in place. […]

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Attention Long Term Care Shoppers: Costs and Other Realities

women using a calculator and laptop

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance Modern consumers have greatly benefited from the ability to comparison shop and order from virtually any purveyor. This reality has even started to infiltrate the healthcare market. However, long term care decisions for yourself or a loved one tend to be more difficult and cannot necessarily be made at the touch of a button through technology like Siri and Alexa. Whether the search is for a home health care worker, or, a facility such as an assisted living facility or nursing home, the choice is often a complex and nuanced one. Some considerations to […]

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“Taking Control of Future Events Through Long Term Care Planning” Classes

books

Melissa Barnickel will resume teaching continuing education classes at Harford Community College this spring titled, “Taking Control of Future Events Through Long Term Care Planning”. The next sessions will be at the following dates/times: ·       3/27 10am-12pm ·       4/26  6:30-8:30pm ·       6/5   10am-12pm ·       6/14  6:30-8:30pm For More Information Click Here

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Long Term Care Awareness

November is national long-term care awareness month

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance November is long term care awareness month. Even though long term care is often discussed in the news, it is frequently confused with healthcare. It is important to understand the distinction between the two types of care in order to make sure you are well prepared for your future needs and are able to stick with your preferred long term care options when the time arises. Healthcare vs. Long Term Care In general, healthcare’s goal is to prevent or cure an illness, while long term care focuses on making sure a person can function […]

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