Covered California Announces Health Plans & Rates

 

California Broker Magazines Insurance Insider News: Thirteen health insurance plans will offer health care coverage through the Covered California health exchange in 2014. The plans are a mix of large non-profit and commercial plan leaders, along with well-known Medi-Cal and regional plans.

The rates for individual plans through the exchange vary from 2% above to 29% below average 2013 premiums for small employer plans in California’s most populous regions. Additionally, exchange plans limit annual out-of-pocket costs to $6,350. Covered California plans include the largest health insurers in the individual market as well as new entrants, regional plans, and local MediCal plans.

The following health plans will participate in the exchange:
• Health Net
• Kaiser
• Anthem Blue Cross
• Blue Shield
• Alameda Alliance for Health
• Chinese Community Health Plan
• LA Care Health Plan
• Molina Healthcare
• Sharp Health Plan
• Valley Health Plan
• Ventura County Health Care Plan
• Western Health Advantage

Three of the nation’s largest players in the employer-sponsored insurance market – UnitedHealthCare, Cigna, and Aetna – will not be selling plans through the California exchange.
Brokers will be able to sell any plan in the exchange, according to Michael Lujan of Covered California who spoke at the LAAHU conference in Los Angeles last week. He urged brokers to get familiar with the plans in order to be ready for open enrollment in October. Renee Casserly of Blue Shield said that, as a broker, you should maintain contact with your clients and let them know that you are able to help them purchase plans under the exchange. She noted that carriers will begin sending out information about the exchange to individual policyholders in September.
Consumers will have a choice of HMOs, PPOs, and exclusive provider organizations (EPOs). Plans that were chosen for the exchange agreed to reduce profit margins down to 2% and 3% and embrace ACOs and medical homes.

In Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Riverside counties, Health Net expects to offer its new tailored-network HMO exchange product, “CommunityCare,” which will be built around local health care providers. Steve Sell, president of Health Net’s Western Region Health Plan said the company will work to ensure that the medical groups, individual physicians and hospitals are committed to comprehensive care coordination and offer freedom of choice in selecting eligible in-network primary care physicians. Health Net Life expects to offer individuals PPO exchange products in the Northern California counties of Contra Costa, Kern, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Tulare.

Molina Healthcare will participate in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. “Our goal is to work with low-income or uninsured,” said J. Mario Molina, MD, president and chief executive officer for Molina Healthcare.
Kaiser Health news reports that nearly three dozen health plans submitted bids to sell their products in the competitive marketplace, and 13 were selected. Exchange officials rejected bids that were priced too high or failed to have robust networks of doctors and hospitals.

Premiums vary depending on the geographic region, the consumer’s age, and the richness of benefits. For example, a 25-year-old in Los Angeles could choose a Health Net catastrophic plan for $117 a month or choose a Bronze plan for $147 a month from L.A. Care, the nation’s largest public health plan. If the 25-year old earns less than about $45,600 per year, they would qualify for a subsidy to bring the cost of the premium down further.

More than half of Californians will be eligible for federal income tax credits for exchange plans. A 40-year-old in Los Angeles who earns $1,915 a month, or 200% of the federal poverty level, would pay a monthly premium of $90 for a Health Net HMO Silver plan in 2014.
The monthly premium would be $332 to $476 for a Silver plan for a 40-year-old individual in Sacramento. That includes federal subsidies, on a sliding scale, for a man or woman with income up to $45,960. Individuals who are eligible for the highest subsidy ($276 per month) would have out-of-pocket premium costs as low as $56 per month. Californians would receive federal subsidies on a sliding scale, extending to a family of four earning up to $94,200. For more information info@amsinsure.com

What happens when a loved one in a nursing home is not receiving proper care?

Question:  3 months ago my sisters and I reluctantly placed our mother (who is 81 years old) in a local nursing home.  Now she is about 30 pounds thinner, doesn’t speak, smells terribly and has bed sores.  We believe that this is the result of poor care provided by the nursing home.  Is there anyone we can contact to “check out” this nursing home and to help us resolve these quality of care issues?  Several of our friends have suggested that we contact the State Long Term Care Ombudsman’s office.  We are not sure what the role of the Ombudsman’s office is.  Can you please educate us on this elder care agency?

Answer:  The Long Term Care Ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA), and each state (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam) has a Long Term Care Ombudsman program. 

Long Term Care Ombudsmen are advocates for the residents of long term care facilities, including nursing homes, board and care homes and assisted living facilities.  They are trained to help residents (and the families of residents) resolve problems that they may be experiencing with long term care facilities.

Long Term Care Ombudsmen can help families address the following long term care concerns:

• Violation of  the resident's rights or dignity
• Physical, verbal or mental abuse
• Poor quality of care
• Inappropriate use of restaints

A Dun & Bradstreet study surveyed more than 12,000 failed businesses to find out why businesses fold.

What they found was that 97.5% of the failures were caused by factors involving the human element including incompetence, inexperience and human frailties such as death. The death of a Key Person can and most often will cause the following: ·         Disruption of management ·         Impairment of credit ·         Loss of profits ·         Loss of company confidence Now is the time to review your businessKey Person coverage or put it in place if they do not already have it. We have a “turn-key” tool kit that will help you identify their need and walk you through the process.

Small Businesses Hold Off On Hiring Due to the ACA

 

Forty-one percent of small business owners say they are holding off on hiring because of the Affordable Care Act, according to a Gallup poll. Thirty-eight percent have pulled back on plans to grow their business; 19% have reduced their number of employees; 18% have cut employee hours; and 24% have thought about eliminating healthcare coverage for employees.

Forty-eight percent say the ACA will be bad for their business, compared to 9% who say it will be good, and 39% who expect no impact. Fifty-two percent say the ACA will lower the quality of healthcare; 13% say it will improve care; and 30% say it will have no impact.

Fifty-five percent of small business owners expect to pay more for healthcare as a result of the ACA. Five percent expect their healthcare costs to decline while 37% say the health law will have no effect on what they pay for healthcare. For more information, visit www.gallup.com.

Life Combo Products See Double-Digit Growth

 

More than 86,000 life combination policies were sold in 2012, an increase of 19% over 2011, according to a LIMRA report. Consumers under 59 held more than half of in-force polices in 2012. Sixty percent of life combination policies are insuring women. Life combination products accounted for 11% of new premium for individual life insurance.
Sales of life combination products continue to grow at a remarkable rate as new carriers enter the market and existing players refine products to remain competitive, said Catherine Ho, LIMRA product actuary. “This segment of the market weathered the storm pretty well during the recession when individual life sales declined significantly. Now that sales growth has returned for individual life, we anticipate life combination products to continue their steady growth,” she said.

All life combination product lines experienced growth in 2012, with whole life (WL) and universal life (UL) combination premium each growing 10% and variable combination premium growing 3%. Whole life combination policy count rose 23%; UL policy count rose 19%; and variable policy count rose 4%.All but one distribution channel experienced double-digit growth in 2012 (independent RIA). Banks and savings institutions posted the largest premium growth, rising 21%; affiliated agents recorded 30% growth in policy count.

Consumers Are Not Prepared for a Critical Illness

 

Ninety percent of middle-income Americans say they are not financially prepared for a critical illness diagnosis, according to a study by the Washington National Institute for Wellness Solutions. The study surveyed 1,001 Americans ages 30 to 66 with annual household incomes of $35,000 to $99,999. The following statistics reveal that many have little, if any, savings to fall back on in the event of a critical illness:
• 75% have less than $20,000.
• 50% have less than $2,000.
• 25% have no savings.
To pay for out-of-pocket critical illness costs, middle-income Americans say they would need to use credit cards (28%) or loans from family/friends (23%) or financial institutions (19%). Another 23% don’t know what resources they could use to pay their expenses. Millennials and Gen Xers anticipate greater reliance on credit cards and loans to pay for critical illness expenses. Thirty-eight percent say they might never recover financially from a battle with cancer and 45% believe they would never recover financially from an Alzheimer’s/dementia diagnosis.
Eighty-eight percent of middle-income Americans have had no conversations with loved ones or advisers about potential care-giving options and 60% have not discussed financial planning for critical illness. Only 12% have explored care-giving options.

Individual Rates to Soar In California

 

Expanded enrollment of a sicker population will drive up rates for individual health plans in 2014, according to a study by Milliman for Covered California, the state’s health exchange. The average premium increase will be an astounding 30.1% for people who make too much to receive the subsidy (more than $93,700 for a family of four or $45,960 for an individual).

However, Californians who will qualify for the highest premium tax credits, due to their income, will see an average drop of 85% in what they pay for health coverage. Depending on the individual’s choice of health plan, this premium tax credit could cover a higher percentage of the premium. There are 1 .6 million people uninsured and eligible for subsidies. Many of them could have 100% of their premiums covered through the Affordable Care Act. Those who make less money will be eligible for larger federal tax credits to make their health care more affordable. Households earning from 138% to 250% of the federal poverty level will likely see an average drop of 85% in what they pay for health coverage. Households earning 250% to 400% of federal poverty level will pay on average 45% less, for more coverage with lower copay and deductibles, than what they would have paid for an individual plan in 2013. The hope is that, in future years, Californians will see decreases in their health care costs as they no longer pay for the burden of the millions of uninsured and benefit from improvements in how care is delivered, according to Covered California.

Do You Have YOUR Income Protected?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHC2R94i3VI&list=PL2FDFB00D1E5B39D1

Good Health Can Be Fun; Teach Your Children

 

Become the hero of your own health story! Habit Heroes like Agent Dynamo can show you how to practice healthy habits. Eating well, exercising and having a positive attitude can turn you into a Habit Hero too — and Anthem can be your helpful sidekick. Choose one of our wellness programs to help. And be the BEST YOU that you can be!

           

Anthem is proud to bring the message of good health to people of all ages by co-sponsoring the Habit Heroes exhibit in the INNOVENTIONS Attraction at Epcot® in the Walt Disney World® Resort. Promoting healthy habits is the goal. And you do it with healthy foods, exercising, and a positive attitude.

As to Disney artwork/properties: ©Disney.

What bothers patients most when visiting the doctor?

A U.S. survey of 1,000 people found the top complaints of patients included long wait times to see physicians, unclear descriptions of problems, slow test results and billing issues. The Consumer Reports study found women were more bothered than men when physicians used electronic devices to record notes and when conversations were held within earshot of other patients. PhysiciansBriefing.com/HealthDay News

Certified Care Manager answers family's question on ElderCareMatters.com

 

Question: Will my parents’ long term care insurance policies pay for day care for my father. Mom is the primary caregiver and needs this “time off” from dad in order not to become totally exhausted. Please advise.

Answer: Without seeing your parent’s specific policy, it is impossible to know what is or is not covered. Some policies only offer payment for specific services such as a non-medical caregiver in the home, a Geriatric Care Manager or the monthly cost for a facility. In addition, many companies sell riders to the basic policy to cover additional types of services beyond what the basic policy covers. Some of the newer policies pay a flat amount of money each month and allow the insured to determine how the money is spent. I recommend you review your parent’s insurance policy to determine the specific benefits allowed to them under their policy. 

It may also be helpful to talk with the agent directly to ensure you are taking full advantage of the benefits they are entitled to receive.
ElderCareMatters.com – America's National Directory of Elder Care / Senior Care Resources for Families.

ACA Will Test Consumers’ Loyalty to Their Doctors

 

Half of consumers would switch their doctor if they could save a certain amount in annual health care costs, according to a survey by HealthPocket. Thirty-four percent would switch if they could save $500 to $1,000; eight percent would switch if they could save $1,000 to $2,000; and 8% would switch if they could save $3,000 or more.

Consumers and small employers will face an array of new health plan choices in 2014. Other than cost, one of the key factors in consumers’ selection process is whether their doctor participates in a plan’s provider network. Cost pressures are moving insurers to limit their provider networks. They are seeking to negotiate lower rates to healthcare providers in exchange for a larger volume of patients.

HealthPocket is offering a physician search component on its site at http://www.healthpocket.com/doctor-finder. It allows consumers to compare all commercial health plans, Medicare plans and Medicaid programs that their doctor may accept.

Special Needs Trusts for special needs children?

Question: "My wife and I (who are in our 60s) have been encouraged to set up a Special Needs Trust for our disabled adult child. Could you please tell us why this would be necessary? Also, could you please provide us with a little background information on this type of legal instrument?"
Answer: Among the many challenges facing parents of children with special needs is planning for the time when the parents will no longer be around to act as the primary caregivers. Advance planning by parents can make all the difference in the life of the child with special needs, as well as for siblings who may be left with caretaking responsibilities.
A Special Needs Trust for your disabled child should be part of an overall plan for your child. If the parent is the legal guardian for the disabled child, it is essential as part of the planning is to arrange for the orderly transfer of the guardianship to a successor. A Special Needs Trust is a trust created for a chronically disabled beneficiary, which supplements government benefits like Medicaid. Medicaid and other government benefit programs consider the resources and income of an individual for purposes of determining eligibility and the amount of such assistance. With a Special Needs Trust, however, someone may establish a trust for a disabled individual without jeopardizing that individual’s eligibility for government benefits. Special needs trusts allow a disabled beneficiary to receive inheritances, gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts are drafted so that the funds will not be considered to belong to the beneficiary in determining eligibility for public benefits.
Often, special needs trusts are created by a parent or other family member for a child with special needs, even though the child may be an adult by the time the trust is created or funded. Such trusts are set up as a way for an individual to leave assets to a disabled relative. As their name implies, special needs trusts are designed not to provide basic support, but instead to pay for comforts and luxuries that could not be paid for by public assistance funds. These trusts typically pay for things like education, recreation, counseling, and medical attention beyond the simple necessities of life. However, the trustee can use trust funds for food, clothing, and shelter if the trustee decides doing so is in the beneficiary’s best interest despite a possible loss or reduction in public assistance. Special needs can include medical and dental expenses, annual independent check-ups, necessary or desirable equipment training and education, insurance, transportation, and essential dietary needs. If the trust is sufficiently funded, the disabled person can also receive spending money, electronic equipment and appliances, computers, vacations, movies, payments for a companion, and other self-esteem and quality-of-life enhancing expenses.
It is important to plan to ensure that your child receives appropriate therapies and medical treatments. It is essential to take the time necessary to find appropriate caregivers who will carry out your wishes and respect your child's goals, dreams and life expectations. At the same time, Predators are particularly attracted to vulnerable beneficiaries, such as the young and those with limited self-protective capacities. When you plan with trusts, you decide who has access to the information about your children's inheritance. This protects your child and other family members, who may be serving as trustees, from predators.
It is important that special needs trusts not be unnecessarily inflexible and generic. Although an attorney with some knowledge of trusts can protect almost any trust from invalidating the child's public benefits, an attorney without special needs experience may not customize the trust to the particular child's needs, and the child may not receive the benefits that the parent provided when they were alive.


James C. Siebert, Attorney at Law

Is it possible to pay the medical expenses of a parent and deduct on your tax returns?

 

Question: My mother is 87 years old and lives in an assisted living facility, which cost about $4,000 per month. She has no assets to speak of and very little income, i.e. she has a small monthly Social Security check and a very small monthly pension. I have been paying for her care in the assisted living facility. Is there anyway that my husband and I can deduct what we pay for mom's medical care in the assisted living facilty on our individual income tax returns? Please provide your answer as soon as possible because we are about to file our 2012 individual income tax returns.
Answer: Yes, a child can deduct medical expenses that they paid on behalf of their parent (even if the parent doesn't qualify as one of their dependents, doesn't live with them and has a gross income that exceeds $3,800 (for tax year 2012)) if the child provided over half of the parent's total support during the tax year. Assuming that the child paid more than 50% of their parent's total support during this tax year, then the medical expenses paid on the parent's behalf in excess of 7.5% of the child's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) are deductible on the child's individual income tax returns as itemized deductions.

Survey: Exchanges gain interest among employers, retirees

Health insurance exchanges are gaining favor among employers. Some 60% of those responding to a survey say they are reconsidering health coverage options for their Medicare-eligible retirees and are open to using exchanges. According to the survey, almost 20% of respondents are connected with a private insurance exchange and two-thirds are looking into the use of private exchanges in the future. Business Insurance (tiered subscription model)


Ask about our private health care exchange, Cal Choice and soon the California Exchange.  info@amsinsure.com or get a quote at www.amsminsure.com

800-334-7875

Hospital Prices Drive Health Care Costs

 

Inpatient Hospital prices increased 8.2% per year from 2008 to 2010 with wide variation in price levels and growth rates across states and localities. The study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) was conducted by researchers at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Taking into account the complexity of treatment and the number of procedures performed, the authors estimate that 1.3% to 1.9% of this increase could be attributed to increased intensity per admission. Thus intensity-adjusted price increases ranged from 6.2% to 6.8% annually during this period.
The price for a spinal fusion increased the most (15.2% per year) from 2008 to 2010. That was followed by bronchitis and asthma treatment (10.3% per year) and uterine laparoscopic procedure for non-malignancy (9.8% per year).
A recent report from the Health Care Cost Institute found that despite some increases in utilization, spending growth was driven primarily by increases in the prices paid. Last year, the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index showed the average per capita cost of hospital services in the commercial market had increased by nearly 8%.
Data show that increasing provider consolidation is one contributor to rising hospital prices. When hospitals consolidate, merging with other hospitals or buying up physician practices, they have greater negotiating strength and competition is limited. The result is higher prices for services, higher costs for patients, and often no improvement in the quality of care delivered. AHIP recently filed an amicus brief on the affect of hospital consolidation in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in support of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). For more information, visit www.ahip.org.

Americans Are Still in the Dark About Health Reform

 

Americans are not sure how the health reform law will affect them and few are paying attention to state-level decisions about implementation, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.
Though opinion on the law remains nearly evenly divided, opponents’ attacks seem to have taken a toll on the public’s expectations. Americans are now more likely to say the law will make things worse rather than better for their families. While most of the law’s individual provisions remain popular, many of the most well-liked elements are the least well-known among the public. Public knowledge of the ACA’s provisions has not increased since 2010. In fact, awareness of some key provisions has declined since the law’s passage when media attention was at its height.
The public hasn’t been paying much attention to the decisions of state and federal policymakers about Medicaid expansion and health insurance exchanges. Forty-eight percent have hear nothing about their state’s decision on whether to create a state run exchange; 15% have heard some; and 7% have heard a lot about it.
While health care cost growth has slowed in recent years, a majority of the public perceives that the country’s health costs have been going up faster than usual. While health care cost growth continues to outpace inflation, the rate of growth in national health expenditures has slowed markedly in recent years. The public’s perception is quite different, however. Fifty-eight percent say that, the cost of health care for the nation has been going up faster than usual over the past few years.
Thirty-four percent say that their own family’s health care costs have been going up faster than usual while 24% say the costs been going up about the same amount as usual, and 32% say their costs have held steady in recent years. Only 2% say their costs have been going up more slowly than usual or have come down. For more information, visit www.kff.org.

How to help a family member who develops Alzheimer's Disease

 

Question: "Help! My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and my family and I have no idea how to proceed in helping her. At what point do we consider nursing home care, and how will we afford this, etc?? Please provide us with some guidance as to how we should proceed and what our options may be."
Answer:The first place to start is with your mother’s doctor. He will be in the best position to assess your mother’s need for long-term care. This could be an immediate need or one that will develop over a period of time. If the doctor feels that she needs immediate long-term care then he will complete the necessary paperwork to have your mother’s condition reviewed by the Medicaid people in your state.
Assuming that Medicaid agrees that your mother needs long-term care at this time, your next step is to sit down with an experienced Medicaid planning attorney. The Medicaid planning attorney will review your mother’s legal documents –particularly her durable power of attorney- to make sure that they comply with current law. Of course, if your mother is still married, then the attorney will review your Dad’s documents as well. If not, then he will prepare a new durable power of attorney for her (again, she must be competent at this stage to avoid a guardianship proceeding) and perhaps your Dad as well.
The Medicaid planning attorney will review your mother’s monthly income and overall wealth to determine what type of Medicaid planning tools are needed to protect her estate. If she has too much monthly income (over $2130 per month), then he will prepare a Qualified Income Trust to insure that she passes the income test. If she received less than $2130 per month, then this step will be unnecessary.
Next, the attorney will review her assets. As a Medicaid applicant she is only allowed to retain $2,000 in assets (cash or cash equivalents, stocks, bonds, etc.). If excess assets exist, the attorney will look to see what other avenues are available to protect the remaining assets. This may include a personal services contract, trusts for the benefit of a disabled adult or minor child, purchasing a pre-paid funeral contract, setting aside and designating a burial fund, purchasing a burial plot and arranging for and paying for the headstone. There may be other purchases for clothing, etc. that may come into play to get her down to the $2,000.00 limit. If Mom is married this will be somewhat easier as she can transfer property to your father without incurring a penalty.
Either your Mother’s doctor or the attorney that you pick to help you should be able to recommend the proper living environment for your mother. I would suggest that you personally visit all of the facilities that are discussed to make sure that you get the proper fit for your mother.
The Medicaid application can be completed by any number of people. Your attorney may do it, a paralegal can do it or someone at the assisted living facility or nursing home can do it for you. The attorney and the paralegal, of course, will charge you for this work. It is best to seek their help as they should have the needed experience to do it properly and to avoid the pitfalls that you might see.
As long as you put together a good team of doctor and attorney you should not find the application process to be all that difficult. The difficulty usually comes up with searching for the back-up documents that support your answers on the Medicaid application. Just remember that each application is different from the last one so do rely on the help of the individuals mentioned in this answer.

What is the difference between Continuing Care and Skilled Care?

 

Question: My sister and I are caregivers to our mother and have been for quite some time. However, we still don't understand what the difference is between Continuing Care and Skilled Care. Would you please define these two elder care terms for us?
Answer: Skilled care is ideal for patients who cannot live independently due to fairly pronounced physical or cognitive ailments. Although the level of care delivered is not the same degree as in an acute care situation that necessitates a hospital visit, a patient receiving skilled care must generally be monitored by a team of skilled nurse providers and other health team members, twenty-four hours a day. The most common location for a patient to receive skilled care is in a nursing home, which is now commonly referred to as a skilled nursing facility (“SNF”).
In contrast, the term “continuing care” generally refers to care provided in some sort of a facility that can accommodate a wide variety of capabilities in its residents – ranging from complete independence to a need for quite a bit of care and assistance. There are now many so-called continuing care retirement communities (“CCRC’s”) that offer this sort of spectrum of care to residents. In a CCRC, seniors can “age in place,” meaning the resident does not need to relocate when their deteriorating health means an increasing level of care is required. That can give residents a sense of comfort and can decrease their anxiety about what will happen in a health crisis.
Sometimes, a health issue is so pronounced there is no other option than for a brief of long-term residency in a SNF, since a CCRC may have an upper limit to the level of care they are equipped to handle. Sometimes, a CCRC may have a separate portion of the facility that is effectively its own skilled nursing facility. There, a resident may be able to stay in their original residence from full independence up until assisted living, but then relocate when skilled nursing is required. A small move to a different area within the same facility would likely be less traumatic than relocation to an entirely different, unfamiliar SNF.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a CCRC? The obvious advantage is the desirability of living somewhere where the resident can likely receive whatever type of care they need for the near foreseeable future. Because many residents in a CCRC need little or no care, it will be easier to participate in activities to stay active and to find peers with which to socialize. The main disadvantage of a CCRC is they can be quite expensive and they do not accept residents on Medicaid.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to a skilled SNF? The main “advantage” so to speak is a SNF may be the only place in which a resident can be taken care of properly. For example, many CCRC’s simply cannot care for a resident who developed pronounced dementia, whereas many (but not all) SNF’s may be equipped for that sort of patient. A disadvantage of SNF’s is that almost all the residents will be quite frail and/or very ill. For a senior who is only moderately weak or having slight difficulties, it will probably be demoralizing to now be surrounded by the very sick.
Financially speaking, the private pay cost for SNF’s are extremely expensive, so expensive that patients are unable to bear the costs out-of-pocket for very long. However, almost all SNF’s can and do accept residents on Medicaid. For those that have the financial means, and assuming a senior’s heath conditions permit it, residency in a CCRC can be highly desirable.
The key point to bear in mind is it is undoubtedly advantageous to start planning for long-term care long before there is a health care crisis. For some seniors, their primary concern is to make sure they are well-cared for, and in the residence setting they find most desirable. Many seniors would also like to take steps to make sure the assets they have worked a lifetime to accumulate are not squandered unnecessarily. I highly recommend that a senior and/or the family of a senior consult with a competent elder law attorney as soon as they can, when they are financially sound and they are in good health. That is the ideal time to devise a good plan that addresses both health needs and financial issues, for the present and for the future, that is also flexible enough to be updated and adapted when family circumstances do change.

 

New

Habit Heroes™ experience aims to

teach families about healthy choices!

Habit Heroes™.

Everyone has the potential to be a habit hero. That’s why we’re

co-sponsoring

Habit Heroes™ in

INN OVENTI ONS at  Epcot® and Walt Disney World®

Resort. The HabitHeroes™

interactive exhibit was reviewed by health experts and is

designed to help families make healthy choices a part of everyday

life. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research showed 17% of

 

U.S. citizens age 2-19 are obese, and nearly 80% of the kids who

 

were overweight at 10-15 years of age were obese by age

25. A CDC report said that unhealthy lifestyle choices

like poor nutrition and lack of exercise radically impact

employers’ costs. This is because they can lead to

chronic conditions, which account for 75% of U.S.

health care spending each year.* Promoting

Habit Heroes™

is one way we’re working to reverse these

trends. It’s a fun, yet effective way to help families

focus on building good habits like eating well, moving

more and staying hydrated. It’s also an extension

of how we support our members through wellness

programs and plans with 100 percent coverage for

preventive care.

What is Habit Heroes™?

 

Habit Heroes  

aims to entertain, inspire and inform

Families about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

Habit Heroes™

is an interactive comic adventure that aims to teach families about

 

healthy habits and it

includes the exhibit at IN OVENI ONS at Epcot® at

Walt Disney World®

Resort as well as a cool

mobile app.

~

~ Families who experience the exhibit can

take part in hero missions alongside a

cast of

Habit Heroes™.

~

~ Each mission is focused on an important

health habit — nutrition, activity and

hydration.

~

~ And the fun continues outside of the

theme park. At home, families can take

part in the adventures with the

Habit

Heroes™

mobile

app that anyone

can download

from

habitheroes.

com

, iTunes

or GooglePlay.

The mobile app

features the

Habit

Heroes™

comic

and provides

users with fun

tools that can be

used to track and

build their hero

power.

Ready to Unlock Your Hero Potential?

Visit

anthem.com/habitheroes to learn

more about how Anthem’s health and

wellness tools can help build good habits.

We all have a role in improving our health

and

Habit Heroes™ is a terrific first step

towards helping families, especially kids,

learn about and develop good health

habits at an early age. Be a habit hero. Visit

habitheroes.com

, or iTunes or GooglePlay

to download the Mobile App.

As to Disney artwork/properties: © Disney

* Centers for Disease Control: Chronic Diseases at a Glance