Memo
TO: Kevin Smith, Vice President of Product Development
FROM: Haoming Cao, Actuary
DATE: Mar. 22, 2017
SUBJECT: New Product Development Opportunity - LTC Insurance
Recent conference has discussed a new insurance product, Long-term Care Insurance. I suggest our company promote this product to the public because of its basic features and the potential market trend, and I also have some ideas about the product development.
Basic Features of Long-term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance is designed to cover the expense of long-term care (LTC) services for the insured, mainly the elderly, and help them manage future health risks. Long-term care includes nursing home care and community care, and its services are to assist people who are
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The factors that influence the market can be summarized as the following points:
• Rapid Population Aging Problem
The aging problem now is worldwide and cannot be easily ignored. It is a result of decreasing fertility and mortality rates. Continuous improvement in modern medicine and medical instruments prolongs human life, so unparalleled number of people into old age. It is anticipated that in 2011, the “baby boomers” born during the post-World War II will attain age 65, so the age 65 and above population will double in 20 years; furthermore, the population over 80 will increase by 110 percent. The rapid growth of elderly population leads to the increasing demand for elderly care, and long-term care insurance happens to be a solution.
• Increasing Life
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Governments often provide tax incentives to encourage the installation of pensions and other benefit plans; hence, the cost of installing group benefits insurance plans is much lower than usual and it is the best time for establishment.
In the past 10 years, your business has accumulated a certain amount of capital and this ensures your company has enough assets to establish group benefit insurance plans. With the goal of continued growth, I think it is not possible to continue relying on current employees. You may consider recruiting new employees to maintain the novelty and attractiveness of your company’s product; for this reason, your business should be attractive and competitive in the job market, and the group benefit insurance plan will surely be a good helper for you. No matter for the consideration of further development of your business or the welfare of employees, I strongly recommend you establishing group benefit insurance
According to Edlund et al., (2003), the Long-Term Care Security Act signed in 2000 by President Clinton established the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program, which in 2002 offered a long-term care insurance program to federal government employees, retirees, and their family members. This type of long-term care employer assisted insurance has great appeal as the last of the Baby Boomers have entered their early fifties. In “Ready, Set, Grow,” Paul Barr (2014) stated that there are 10,000, Baby Boomers per day becoming eligible for Medicare, and those in their sixties focus on cost saving solutions; whereas Baby Boomers in their fifties emphasize the importance of quality, and ease of access while exploring new care models with innovative patient interactions and unique financing
If your senior loved one has a chronic illness or disability, they may benefit from investing in long-term care insurance. Medicare and employer-based insurance plans typically don't cover in-home care. Long-term care insurance is purchased separately and covers in-home care from health aides or caregivers. Because insurance companies typically will withhold payment for a certain time period after the insurance is purchased for seniors with pre-existing conditions, make sure your loved one has funds in savings or other sources to cover the care before the insurance begins to pay.
Who is the target client? The targeted clientele for long-term care would be people or persons who have a disability or a life altering accidents. Patients who had Surgery or A physical complication or threatening illness that takes away their ability to do for themselves, the senior citizen population who's need can not be at home but in a facility to help them heal or to keep them from being at risk for future injury.
Because of the company's growing concern about the employees’ benefits, we made arrangements to place new benefits in addition to the group life insurance that is presently enjoyed by all employees. The decision to make these new benefits allows thepayroll to be altered for the implementation of any legislated withholding.
These workers didn’t make enough to have a retirement fund so the old age, so long-term care facilities were created, just like today a lot of people don’t have the means for an old age retirement fund. Financial management in long-term care is the facility administrators, financial officers, accountants and bookkeepers also the government officials, accountants, lawyers and bankers. These are the individual that keeps the financial areas of a long-term care facility to keep going. Long-term care regulatory guidelines in most facilities there are regulations that are required in order to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Long term care is one of the fastest growing health sectors due to the increased average life
Health care coverage can be obtained from many different sources. The most common source is through employer-based insurance. The coverage offered to employees through a group health plan can benefit the employees as well as the business. According to Small Business Majority (2017), purchasing a group policy will allow the employees to have better access to care, which results in healthier employees. In addition, being more affordable and having the sense that medical expenses would not be as expensive if they did not have insurance (Small Business Majority, 2017). Finally, tax benefits that businesses may receive for paying at least half of the employee's premiums, according to Small Business Majority (2017). These benefits assist in creating a healthier atmosphere in a business.
Long-term care has and is continuing to become an important part of the continuum of care. Years ago Long-term care (LTC) was considered only to be for the elderly, but as time passes it is for anybody and everybody who needs it. Barton (2006) stated, “Regardless of the length of time (i.e., from weeks to years), long-term care is an array of services provided in a range of settings to individuals who have lost some capacity for independence due to injury, chronic illness, or condition” (p. 367). According to Barton (2006), it states that the services long-term care provides help the consumer with basic needs and shows the individuals how to do daily living activities, along with therapy and being able to
In many circumstances, people may move out of long-term care. Those recovering illness or injury may regain independence after they are well. Some may not every be able to live a life without long-term care again. It is noted that 40 percent of people over 65 will need two or more years of long-term care with half of those needing care for more than five years (Grote, 2011). Unfortunately, with today’s aging population, the numbers in the long-term care are most likely to keep increasing instead of transitioning people out. Of the 12 million people who need LTC, 6.6 million are age 65 or older and are likely to be Medicare beneficiaries and entitled to the LTC coverage that Medicare provides (Barton, 2006). That said, not everyone who
Looking at the imminent departure of the once baby boomer generation, it is critical the community be well-informed regarding development economically for possibility of long-term care and that the legislative policy creators offer motivation for this type of preparation. The private sector tax offer alternatives such as 401(k)’s and IRA’s are an sign of motivation to bank funds aside when able to, but other alternatives have to be developed if a person wants to be ready for the future demands on long-term care. This incredible boost will have needed to combine both public and private sector initiatives. Medicaid, Self-pay, or insurance companies could cover long-term care expenses.
The continuum of institutional long-term care is for patients whose needs are not adequately met in a more community-based setting. It is for individuals who need more dependency. There are two ends of the continuum of institutional long-term care spectrum. On the one end there are the individuals that may only need basic personal or custodial care (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399). An example of personal and custodial care can include help with walking, bladder training, or just helping with bathing. On the other end there are the individuals that may need more round the clock care with nursing or specialized services along with the basic needs (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399).
Long-term care healthcare delivery will be a great/popular option for many of these senior citizens. The long-term care healthcare delivery system falls within the continuum of care. The continuum of care is a series of heath care services that are provided to a great number of older adults who are in need of them throughout the course of their life/older life. The care ranges from: personal care, custodial care, restorative care, skill nursing care, and sub acute care (Shi & Singh, 2012). Different providers work together within the continuum to provide the right care to those in need. The continuum of care, as stated in Long Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum, is “comprehensive, integrated, and client-oriented”(Pratt, 2010). All the services offered should be client-based and cater to the client’s needs and suitable care. The client should be able to obtain services when it is needed from the provider, making it comprehensive. All the different long-term care providers should be interconnected between one another, because their goal is all the same, which is to care for the client’s needs. The continuum of care consists of: nursing facilities, sub acute care, assisted living, residential care, elderly housing, and a variety of community-based services (Pratt, 2010). All these different providers work together to care for the individuals within the health care industry, creating the continuum and making it integrated. As the future progresses and a great amount of
With the growing rate of the elderly, increasing the need for our services, the growth potential for our business is enormous. As long as we stand by our commitment of a professional company and live up to our own standards, we will surpass the
Long-Term Care is the retirement crisis that no one is talking about. There is an increasing demand for long-term care services because Americans are living longer with chronic health conditions. For Example, Veterans may live with family or alone and need services that their caregiver can no longer provide or may outlive their primary caregiver. Nursing home placement seems like the only option.
Economic factors: Chances of getting highly paid jobs are increasing as customers are now well educated. Being highly qualified, persons are getting high salaries and thus they are now more interested in getting health insurance. Hence, the premium policies should be customized by the health insurance companies such as BUPA, for the individuals who are getting high salaries and these companies should also have policies that are worthy for the low income people.