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Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
December 1, 2006
Make It A Basket
(or Bag, or Tote) This Year
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Now that we've polished
off the Thanksgiving turkey and cleared up the
dishes it's officially time to start the annual
panic over holiday shopping and what to give to the
difficult-to-buy-for in our lives.
Read The Rest...
A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and
it's easy to exchange.
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Elder CareTip:
"Edible" Decorations |
The following is from a reader note I received last
week. I thought it was important enough to pass
along:
"We had guests for Thanksgiving, and they brought me
some decorative candles shaped like large chocolate
kisses. I set them out without thinking. Friday
morning when I came into the room I saw that someone
had taken a pretty large bite out of one of them. Of
course I can't prove it but I'm certain it was my
mother. She has Alzheimer's. She's never done
anything like that before, but it's just her and me
and my husband, and I don't think he would eat my
candles.
'I have some plastic Christmas tree garlands that
look like strings of old fashioned penny candy. I
don't think I dare put them on the tree this year."
Yes, it's probably a wise choice to forego any
decorations that look like edibles if you have very
young children or adults with dementia in your home.
And guaranteed, about the time you think you've
pretty well anticipated everything, something new
will come along to stun you.
I just
received a nice note from Rick Perry, the Governor
of Texas. In it he urged me to start planning for my
future long-term care needs. As a first step the
note suggests that I should look into long-term care
insurance.
My letter is part of an initiative between the
Federal government and the 50 states to get us
boomer citizens to take some action now. If we
don't, the various government entities are facing a
potential financial disaster in a few years as we,
too, start turning to Medicaid and other programs to
finance our care needs. This initiative is a good
first step.
With my letter came a brochure that offers me a
Long-Term Planning Kit that I can either order
through the mail or download. The kit has a booklet
and several recordings. Being an impatient sort, I
chose the download route.
Frankly, I haven't listened to the audio. But I have
reviewed the booklet. It's a good introduction. If
you'd like to take a look at it, you can
get the kit here.
While it's a good introduction, if you're interested
in long-term care insurance you will still have to
do most of the research yourself. That means that
after you've gone through the included worksheets,
you'll still eventually have to speak with at least
one long-term care insurance agent. I don't know
anyone who wants to spend any more time than
absolutely necessary with insurance agents
(apologies to any insurance agents who may be
reading this, but you know it's true). In the
interest of saving you a little time and effort,
here are some things to consider when you go out to
find an agent:
You'll save some time if you consult with an agent
who can offer a wide variety of policies from
several companies. Each insurance "product" is
designed for a particular kind of consumer. An
independent agent can select the policies that would
be most appropriate for you.
Look for an agent who has specialized in long-term
care insurance for several years. An agent who sells
automobile, homeowners, life, and health insurance
is not likely to be a specialist. The long-term care
insurance arena is complex. You want to be certain
that you are receiving advice from someone who
understands the terminology, the implications of
various policy provisions, and who can help you
choose a policy you won't regret in 20 years.
Don't buy on the Internet. This is one purchase
where the Internet can be instructive. Use the 'Net
to do your research. Then meet face-to-face and buy
from someone with a local address and a telephone
number where you can reach a live person.
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