William Penn Life, 1997 (32. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1997-02-01 / 2. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, February 1997 William Penn LIFE Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication: 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724 George S. Charles, Jr. Editor-in-chief Richard W. Toth Diane M. Torma Associate Editors John E. Lovász Managing Editor NATIONAL OFFICERS George S. Charles, Jr. National President Richard W. Toth National V.P.-Secretary Diane M. Torma National V.P.-Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael J. Hrabar Chairman Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman Elmer A. Furedy Vice Chairman Anthony C. Beke Louis A. Fodor Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara Andrew W. McNelis George F. Mirkovich Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr. Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board AUDITING COMMITTEE Robert A. Ivancso Chairman Margaret H. Boso Secretary Dennis A. Chobody Charles J. Furedy Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr. CONSULTANTS Bruce &. Bruce Company Actuary Horovitz, Rudoy & Roteman C.P.A. Rothman Gordon Foreman &. Groudine, P.C. General Counsel Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner's risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reiect any article submitted for publication. Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Long term care insurance By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel One of the newest products being offered by insurance companies today is long term care insurance. This type of insurance provides benefits for the payment of long term care should it be required by the policy holder. For a number of years, this type of insurance was unregulated by state insurance departments, but the growth of the industry has caused many states to adopt regulations governing the policies being offered and sales practices. Whether or not you need or can afford long term care insurance will depend, in great measure, upon your financial condition. Premium costs, as with life insurance, increase greatly as you age. For example, if the coverage is purchased while you are between 60 and 65 years of age, annual premiums may range from $800 to $ 1,200. At age 75, however, the annual premiums may range from $1,800 to $2,200. Similarly, policy benefits differ greatly from insurer to insurer. Whether you need or should consider such insurance is a decision to be made based on your own financial and health conditions. We can, however, offer some suggestions when considering this type of insurance, and the policy benefits you may wish to consider. First, contact your state insurance commission to determine what regulations they have adopted regarding this type of insurance. Ask for copies of the regulations and a list of insurers approved to offer the insurance in your state. Be sure the person offering you the policy is representing a company on that list. Secondly, know your rights under the coverage you already have. If you have Medicare coverage, you are entitled to 20 days of long term care, so long as it occurs within 30 days of your hospitalization, if the hospitalization was for at least three consecutive days. Thereafter, through day 100, Medicare will pay all costs above $92 (in 1996) for. long term care. If you have private insurance, it may be a replacement for Medicare, or it may supplement your Medicare coverage, either by paying all or a portion of the first $92 in days 21 through 100, or by paying benefits beyond day 100. By knowing what benefits you already have, you can evaluate more clearly the importance of the benefits offered to you in the new policy. Thirdly, consider the benefits offered in the policy you are considering. A. You should be sure benefits are payable not just upon admission to a skilled care facility, but also upon admission to an intermediate or custodial care facility. Medicare coverage is for skilled or custodial care only, and not intermediate care. In that situation, the coverage may need to start sooner than 100 days after placement, and you should attempt to obtain that type of coverage through the policy. You may even want to obtain a policy that will pay for coverage for the costs of home health care benefits, so that, although WILLIAM PENN ASSOCIATION HUNGARY TOUR’97 RESERVATION FORM FULL NAME: ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: ZIP: PHONE: (Flome)____________________________(Work)______ PLEASE RESERVE MY SPACE ON THE FOLLOWING TOUR: (Please check one only) □ TOUR #1 - JUNE 12 TO JUNE 26, 1997 □ TOUR #2-SEPTEMBER 3 TO SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 ACCOMMODATIONS TOUR #1 TOUR #2 (Please check one only - Prices are per person) (JUNE) (SEPT.) □ DOUBLE OCCUPANCY................................. $2,999.00 $2,999 00 □ SINGLE OCCUPANCY.................................... $3,499.00 $3,499.00 CITY OF DEPARTURE SIGNATURE: Send this form along with your deposit of $400.00 per person payable to: “Fugazy International Travel” to: William Penn Hungary Tour, Fugazy International Travel 770 U.S. Highway No. 1, North Brunswick, NJ 08902 'Prices are for New York departure. All airfares are subject to change without notice. Land prices guaranteed at time of booking. PLEASE, one person per form. Copies of this form may be made requiring daily care, the care may be provided at home rather than in another facility. Home health care costs are expensive, however, and this will depend in great measure on your financial ability. B. The benefits payable should also be considered. You should attempt, at a minimum, to obtain payment of at least $100 per day during admission, with between $120 and $130 per day a more preferred state. If your financial condition permits, the policy should include inflation protection, so that, by the time the benefits are payable, increases in costs for services will still be covered. C. The duration of coverage is also important. The average nursing home stay is between 18 and 24 months. You may want, however, to provide for coverage up to 36 months so that you will not have a period of disqualification from Medicaid if you transfer all of your assets away when admitted to the facility (the Medicaid look back period is three years to determine what assets should be available to pay for your care). Coverage for any longer period will depend on your financial circumstances. D. Finally, you may wish to consider when you become eligible for coverage—i.e., what is the "gatekeeper” mechanism to determine if benefits are payable. As noted above, Medicare long term care coverage is only applicable if the admission to the facility is within 30 days of a hospital admission of at least three days’ duration. There are other situations when long term care is needed, however, and no hospitalizations occurred. For example, a person may be receiving long term care at home but because of the illness of the care giver, needs to be placed in an intermediate care facility. Preferred language should allow coverage to begin when a physician certifies that the person is no longer physically and/or cognitively able to perform his or her daily living activities independently. Long term care coverage is generally something which should be considered by persons age 55 and above, who are in the middle income group, because that is the group that will be most affected by the need to pay for long term care. Those below middle income may qualify for Medicaid or other assistance which will pay or assist in payment for long term care. Those above middle income may be able to afford paying the costs of long term care without depletion of their assets. If you are both middle aged and middle "incomed,” you need to consider whether long term care coverage is something in which you should invest. If you have any topics you would like us to consider for thte fiotumn; please send them to: Emil W. Herman, Esq., Rothman Gordon, Third Floor, Grant Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Topics will be considered based on space considerations, interest to all readers, and appropriateness for general legal discussion.-------------______ Employee Anniversaries We extend our appreciation and congratulations to the following Home Office employees for their many years of dedicated service to our Association and its members: Maria Bistev. Receptionist / Membership Services / Hungarian Secretary / Address Changes. 10 Years on January 19. Kerri Budnick. Junior Underwriter/New Business. 13 Years on February 2. Geraldine Davenport. Secretary to the Chairman of the Board / Secretary to the National Vice President- Secretary / Sales Coordinator / Agent Licensing / Scholarships. 28 Years on February 24. Debra Evans. Life & Annuity Cash Surrenders Claims / Accounting. 10 Years on February 23. Charlotte Mozqa. Receptionist / Membership Services / Active Record Filing. 17 Years on January 2. Richard W. Toth. National Vice President-Secretary. 13 Years on January 27. Helen Werlinq. Secretary to the National President / Dividends / Policy Loans / Matured Endowments. 39 Years on January 28.
