| Send2Press.com • Today is Saturday, February 11, 2012 | A Member of the Neotrope News Network |  |
|
|
NEWS ARCHIVES : U.S. and World News :
General Editorial :
Opinion and Commentary
News
|
Press Release:
Insurance Leader Praises Senator Kennedy for Promoting Long-Term Care Aid for All Americans as Part of Health Reform
KIRKLAND, Wash. (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The traditionally conservative insurance industry can come to terms with a Democratic Congress on health reform, according to one insurance leader, Denise Gott, who today heaped praise on Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) for his crusading efforts. "He sees more clearly than anyone the need to reform not only acute health care, but long-term care, which affects the quality of life and pocketbooks of virtually every American family," she says. Gott is Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners LLC (LTCFP) -- http://www.ltcfp.com -- one of the nation's largest and most experienced long-term care insurance agencies. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Kennedy chairs, is now working on a comprehensive health bill, the "The American Health Choices Act," that is expected to include key provisions covering long-term care. "I agree with the major thrust, that we need a program embracing the long-term care needs of all Americans," Gott says, "but have concerns on two points." They are -- 1. The "public option" which would create a government-run program insuring people in competition with private carriers. GOTT'S CONCERNS: "Instead of competing with insurance companies, unfairly I believe, I'd rather have the government offer new tax incentives to make long-term care policies more affordable." She points to recently-introduced bills, H.R. 2096 and S. 702, that would allow LTC insurance to be included in employer-sponsored cafeteria plans and flexible spending accounts, enabling people to pay their LTC premiums using pre-tax dollars. "These bills, with bipartisan sponsorship, show the way to go," she says. "However, if Kennedy and Congress are determined to offer a public option for long term care, competing with the private plans, there's a way it could work. Instead of automatically enrolling everyone in the public LTC option, the government would have people make one of the following choices: the public option, or a private plan (which they could choose from any state-certified carrier), or the public option plus a supplemental private plan." The benefit amount of the public option is expected to be $50 to $100 a day depending on the degree of disability. "This isn't enough to cover all one's care needs. A minimal private plan pays $200 a day." 2. New "insurance exchanges" where people would shop for a policy from multiple carriers. GOTT'S CONCERNS: "This might be a good idea but could turn bad if the government itself designs and runs it. As an analogy, imagine -- before the days of YouTube -- Washington creating a video-sharing service. How good would it be with bureaucratic coders and no competition to assure constant improvement?" Gott might approve, however, of a plan that offers guidelines and incentives for entrepreneurs to create insurance-selection exchanges. "There are many complexities that government employees aren't likely to take into account," she says. "Selecting the right long-term care policy is much more important and complex than buying a car. And who would buy their car just by going to a website? Also, a government exchange would probably send people directly to insurance carriers, as the online prescription-drug system did. This would be like sending people to auto manufacturers for their cars, when auto agencies, with their hand-holding and value-added services, are the right destination." In Gott's view, a proper exchange for long-term care insurance would send people to independent agents who know which carriers are soundest, and can advise on the right policy features at the lowest cost. "With the online system for choosing a prescription-drug plan, people went crazy with all the complexity," Gott says. "They'd really tear their hair out with a long-term care choice system. An informed, unbiased advisor is absolutely essential." When rectified with another plan being crafted by the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy's plan could gain momentum. But will it find enough bipartisan support to pass? "With the right adjustments, I think so," says Gott. "With the tweaks I suggest, I believe it would be much more acceptable to Republicans and conservative Democrats." On the central point she agrees 100 percent with Senator Kennedy: "We desperately need reform, for long-term care as well as acute health care. About 46 million Americans lack regular health insurance, but many times that number lack long-term care insurance. Only about 9 million have it out of a population of more than 300 million; and among those at greatest risk, 45 and older, more than 90 percent go uncovered." Gott encourages concerned citizens to make their views known to their representatives in Congress. Legislators' phone numbers and fill-in forms may be found at -- http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml. "Women in particular should speak up," Gott says. "They're at risk even when they themselves stay well and fit. Typically they're the ones forced into unpaid care giving when a family member suddenly develops a care need."
NEWS SOURCE: LTC Financial Partners LLC
Send2Press® is the originating wire service for this story. Terms of Use. © LTC Financial Partners LLC. All trademarks acknowledged.
THE CONTENT OF THE ABOVE PRESS RELEASE WAS PROVIDED BY THE NEWS SOURCE (LTC Financial Partners LLC), WHO IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ACCURACY. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY CONTACT THE NEWS SOURCE AND NOT THIS WEBSITE.
Journalist Resources:
Download original press release as issued including media contact information for LTC Financial Partners LLC.
Additional News Releases on Similar Topics:
|
Subscribe to Send2Press®
Daily News Releases by E-Mail
Follow Send2Press on Social Sites: 
Additional News from
LTC Financial Partners LLC : » TAX TIP: Get Long-Term Care Insurance NOW to Qualify for Deduction Next Year » Baseball Players Make Healthcare Home Run - Gaining Protection against Rising Long-Term Care Costs » Looking for a New Year's Resolution That's Quick and Easy to Keep? » The Top Ten Reasons Long-Term Care Insurance May Be the Best Holiday Gift Ever
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View our news channels by industry topics, by U.S. States, or by selected U.S. Cities:
|
Terms of Use and License
This "article format" version of the issued press release is Copr. © 1983-2012 Neotrope/Send2Press. You may freely link to this article version of the press release or may use the release text as the basis for an original article or news posting. If the content is copied verbatim via a scraping or copy/paste method, the news item must be properly "attributed" to Send2Press® Newswire as the originating wire service for this story (may not be posted on ANY site selling/offering SEO or PR services, newswire services, or adult content!). |
DISCLAIMER: the above press release content is believed accurate but not guaranteed, and is based on business news supplied by the source. The noted source is solely responsible for its accuracy. Financial/Stock news may contain forward looking statements. Neotrope/Send2Press (this website) makes no claims of accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Any opinions expressed by representatives of company(s) mentioned in news and profiles are solely those of the person indicated, and do not reflect any opinion or policy of Neotrope® or Send2Press. Your use of any information contained herein is done solely at your own risk, and you are fully responsible for using any information herein, or on sites mentioned or linked to in the article. All trademarks acknowledged.
REFERENCES: Insurance Leader Praises Senator Kennedy for Promoting Long-Term Care Aid for All Americans as Part of Health Reform, Denise Gott, LTC Financial Partners LLC, acute health care, long-term care, insurance, LTCi, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Senator Kennedy, H.R. 2096 and S. 702, LTCFP, B-NAB, press release, Jun 9, 2009. |
|
THIS PAGE MEDIA READS (by media and public, as of today): 2584 times (1 today, 6 this week, 9 this month, 31 this year)
Site Design and Content is Copr. © 1983 - 2011 Neotrope® - All rights reserved. Send2Press® is a reg. trademark and service mark of NEOTROPE.
Press Release Writing | About Send2Press | Meet Our Staff | Contact Us | Our Services | Help Desk | Legal | Privacy | How-To Articles | RSS Feeds | Journalist Tools | Client eMediaKits | Headline Feeds | Podcast | PR News Channels | Daily News Desk | Success Stories | PRTRax™ Reader Tracking | Targeted News Distribution | Internet Marketing Services | Order PR Services | Terms of Service (TOS)