Clients need more LTC advice, experts say
Talking to clients about long-term-care insurance may be uncomfortable, but failing to act can lead to a lifetime of savings' being erased in months.
Talking to clients about long-term-care insurance may be uncomfortable, but failing to act can lead to a lifetime of savings’ being erased in months.
Too often, clients face heartbreaking health care decisions that could have been addressed earlier and more easily with better financial planning, industry leaders said during a panel discussion last Tuesday at the summit.
“We have to get emotion in the mix,” said panelist John W. Wheeler Jr., vice president of Water Tower Financial Partners LLC. “My son and I are very close, but I don’t want him changing my diaper.”
The panelists all acknowledged that discussing long-term care with clients is difficult — particularly because of the stigma associated with nursing homes and other centers for long-term care.
“Getting old sucks,” said panelist Ben Neiburger, an attorney with Neiburger Law Ltd. “What a depressing conversation.”
But Mr. Neiburger said that despite the awkwardness, advisers must still educate clients about long-term care without forcing them to make decisions. He also encourages advisers to ensure that their clients have proper estate plans in place.
“I’ve seen $500,000 in assets that Mom and Dad had scrimped to save for an inheritance for the children burned away in a couple of years” Mr. Neiburger said.
LTC insurance is only part of the solution, said panelist Mark Meiners, a professor of health administration and policy at George Mason University. He said that he is optimistic about progress being made on private and public partnerships that provide more-affordable health care options for consumers.
California, Connecticut, Indiana and New York have an LTC partnership that gives residents in those states access to affordable LTC insurance; if the benefits are exhausted, Medicaid then covers continuing care. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 allows more states to develop partnership programs, and Mr. Meiners said that he is hopeful that other states will soon form such partnerships.
E-mail Lisa Shidler at [email protected].
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