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Melissa Barnickel

Long Term Care Insurance: Real Stories

Sometimes understanding the ways in which long term care insurance (LTCI) can help in the future can feel very abstract— especially if you are trying to plan out care decades before you might come to need it. Listening to the stories of real people who have purchased, and in some cases used LTCI, can help provide a better perspective as you plan for your own future, so let’s explore some real case studies together: We’ll start off with Marilyn, 80, insured through Mutual of Omaha who had chronic knee pain which turned out to be a meniscus tear and osteoarthritis. […]

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Is Long Term Care Insurance Right For You?

Thinking about long-term care planning can feel overwhelming at the start. After all, life is busy and the possibility of needing it can feel very far away. But that’s exactly the right time to start looking at your options— long before an emergency situation arises so you have a plan already in place should the time come when you need extra assistance. Here we’ll discuss the benefits of long term care insurance versus self-funding your long term care so you can decide what is right for you and your family. Many people do not realize that help with activities of […]

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How to Be Carefree About Future Caregiving Needs This Summer

There’s nothing quite like the carefree nature of the summer months- beach trips, BBQs, baseball games- all of the warm weather pleasures we look forward to the rest of the year. However, it can be hard to be fully present and enjoy these summer pastimes when we don’t feel our financial and insurance needs are in order. It can feel like this task is taking up room in our heads and weighing down our shoulders a bit. Often this is because it can feel vastly overwhelming. Well, as they say, one step at a time! We’re sure you’ve heard some […]

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Ice Cream, Elephants, and Long Term Care

On a hot summer day, when you’d do anything to cool down just a bit, does it really matter if you know what soft serve ice cream flavor you are getting up front—chocolate, vanilla, or twist? Similarly, when planning for long term care, it’s important not to get overwhelmed with the exact details of the policy from the get-go. The important thing is just starting the planning in the first place and figuring out the rest as you go along! When someone needs long term care, they’re likely to have a few problems. In addition to the condition that causes […]

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Love, American Style (and Long Term Care)

Watching television on Friday in the early 1970s, chances are the set was tuned to Love, American Style. The romantic comedy series featured some (then fresh) faces such as Diana Keaton, Albert Brooks, Karen Valentine, Harrison Ford, and Sally Struthers. Maybe I’ve got love on my mind because February is the month of love. Though not a national holiday, judging by the candy, cards, and artificial roses flooding stores, there are a lot of people who celebrate Valentine’s Day. That got me thinking about love as it relates to long term care planning. Were Love, American Style to be reprised, […]

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Those Darn Resolutions, Ghosts, and Tiny Tim

It’s almost as if Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas Future is whispering in your ear as you consider New Year’s Resolutions. That is, if you’ve resolved to take care of outstanding pesky legal and financial tasks.  You know the ones. Despite their importance, they never seem to rise to the top of your to-do list. Sigh. I understand. We’re humans, not machines. We don’t always act predictably, or, even rationally. Most of us procrastinate and avoid any tasks that acknowledge our mortality. Draft (or update) a will? What’s the rush? Designate a healthcare proxy? How will the choice be explained to […]

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‘Tis the Season for Long Term Care Insurance Claims

It’s a busy time of year. Squirrels are squirreling away the last acorns in their winter stash. Birds are hurriedly winging it to their winter climes. Bakeries are taking orders for goodies. Grandparents are shopping and double-checking they’ve got every grandchild taken into account. And as for Santa, well, it goes without saying he’s pretty flat-out these days. However, grandparents, bakers, birds, squirrels, and even Santa himself, have nothing on their plate compared to a claims professional at a long term care insurance company. It makes sense, if you take a moment to think about it. And thinking about it […]

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Pumpkin Spice, Holidays, and Long Term Care

Here are a few indicators that summer is over: Labor Day School buses out on the streets And pumpkin spice…in, well, just about everything  I don’t remember this phenomenon of pumpkin spice infiltrating autumn 20 years ago; but I do know that today it’s inescapable. From coffee to air fresheners, to (believe it or not) Milk-Bone dog treats! My guess about the appeal of pumpkin spice is that just when we are mourning the loss of summer, the scent evokes coziness and comfort. A kind of autumnal consolation. If pumpkin spice were a holiday, it would be Thanksgiving, not Halloween—for […]

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Survey Says: The 24th Annual Survey on Long Term Care Insurance

The yearly “Milliman Long Term Care Insurance Survey” was recently published by Broker World magazine. As in previous years, the survey covers the prior year’s standalone long term care insurance sales as reported by insurers, so the data in the article refers to 2021. The value of this survey is the ability it provides to identify changes in the long term care insurance market, buyer profile, and policy selection. Each year’s survey is filled chock-a-block with interesting nuggets of information. Specific metrics, from how long it takes for an application to go through the underwriting process, to the age of […]

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Long Term Care: Knowing vs. Understanding

It’s one thing to know something, quite a different thing to understand it. Knowing is more academic, objective. When you know something, you’ll get the right answer on a quiz. Understanding? Well, I believe that’s more under your skin. In your bones. Relevant to your life.

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