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If you check out the prices of today's long term care insurance, I'm sure you'll ask who can afford them? They are just too expensive for the regular working class like us.
Long-term care insurance policies pay back policyholders a daily amount for services to assist them with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, transferring (to bed, chair, etc), housework, shopping for groceries or eating. Unlike traditional health insurance, long-term care insurance is designed to cover long-term services and supports, including personal and custodial care in a variety of settings such as your home, a community organization, or other facility.
In Pennsylvania, premiums have gone up as much as 130%, yearly rates have exceeded $8,000. So why are they so expensive? President of Rosenthal Wealth Management Group Larry Rosenthal said that nowadays, people are living longer and aren't necessarily living healthier. So insurance companies left the market since there are little or no profits and those that remain have increased premiums significantly to keep up with costs.
Here are some alternatives way to pay for Expensive Long-Term Care Insurance:
Short-term care insurance - this policy is like long-term care insurance, however the benefits are typically capped at one year. This policy is more affordable and they may also be available to older seniors or those who aren't otherwise eligible for long-term coverage.
Life + long-term care insurance - the combination of long-term care coverage and life insurance may help consumers avoid the type of rate increases currently being experienced in Pennsylvania.
Long-term care annuities - These annuities require a hefty upfront payment, but if you need long-term care, your overall cost may be lower than what you'd spend on insurance premiums.
Health savings accounts - For those who have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan, a health savings account offers a way to put money aside tax-free for medical costs, such as long-term care.
Home equity - Retirees without significant investments may still own a valuable asset: their house. Tapping into home equity through a line of credit, taking out a reverse mortgage or selling a house outright are some of the ways people can use their property to pay for long-term care.
Pensions or Social Security - Depending on the size of your monthly payments and the amount of care you need, paying for services monthly out of a pension or Social Security benefit may be option.
Medicaid - if all else fail, and a person's income and assets have been depleted, the government will step in to pay for care. Medicaid won't pay for assisted living, but it will cover nursing home care and many states also pay for home health care services for eligible people.
BY JANET STEINBERG
Dear Fellow Travelers,
Once in a while I come upon an unusual item that I feel compelled to share with you. This particular item is not only practical, but for me it was inspirational. It inspired me to do what I had been threatening to do for years.
However, this time was different. This time I was really going to do it!
I was going to practice what I had preached for so many years. Finally, I was going to prove to myself that I could really travel for a week, with only one carry-on bag, and still look chic and different every night.
Now mind you, this is no easy task. However, the hardest part is not managing with limited possessions once you reach your destination. The most difficult challenge is before you ever leave home…deciding what to pack that will fit in one carry-on.
My first step was to select the carry-on I wanted to use. My choice was a dark grey e/c/b/c Falcon 22-inch Rolling Duffle. I decided on a grey colored bag not only because grey is distinguishable from all the other black bags in airports, hotel lobbies, and cruise ships, but because, unlike other colors, it doesn’t show average soil.
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| 22-INCH FALCON ROLLING DUFFLE CARRY-ON |
Outwardly, the Falcon has the flexibility of a duffle bag, but the inside is structured like a traditional piece of luggage…with one great exception. The piece de resistanceof this unique bag, made of nearly indestructible HD Ballistic Nylon, is a TSA checkpoint-friendly FastPass System that allows you to unzip the Falcon's specialized well-padded electronics compartment, lay the wheeled duffle bag flat on the security conveyer and go through the TSA checkpoint without unpacking your laptop, tablet and cables.
My wheeled duffle came equipped with an e/c/b/c Portable Power Pack, allowing a quick charge for electronic devices. Devices can even be recharged right in the carry-on. And, as an added attraction, there is a SnapBack ID Tag that pulls out of a protective pocket. When you let go, it makes a fast return into an ID pocket. So clever!
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| PADDED POCKETS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES |
Now that I had selected the carry-on for my week’s trip, the fun began. From the onset, I want you to know that downsizing to one carry-on was no easy task for me. I am a person who began my travel career wandering the world with two large suitcases plus one carry-on. Now I was faced with my self-imposed challenge of packing one 22-inch bag that would carry me through a one-week trip, and still let me look fashionably chic and different every single night.
The question was: Where does one start? The answer was easy: Start with the basics. And what could be more basic than basic black? I knew that my week’s wardrobe would have to revolve around my favorite color…black. The closet search was on for whatever black clothing I owned that was washable and wouldn’t wrinkle. Possibilities were tossed onto my bed and then the process of elimination began.
The winners, that would serve as the foundation of my week’s wardrobe, were as follows: a long skirt and top duo; pleated jacket and pant suit; a pair of black slacks; and a mid-calf reversible skirt with black on one side and electric blue, red, and black on the other. Note: I would also travel in black jeans, top, and cardigan sweater, jacket, or coat (depending on weather) because they are the bulkiest items and would hog too much of my carry-on’s limited space.
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| AND THE WINNERS ARE…. |
Next came the task of choosing the tops and accessories that would change my look every evening. Same rules applied: the clothing must be wrinkle-proof and washable. Colorful tops, scarves (for warmth as well as style), and interesting costume jewelry would do the trick. And, of course, I also had to include a couple of cotton tees and tops to wear with the black jeans during the day.
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| MAGICAL MIX AND MATCHERS |
Purses, Purses, Purses. Purses with a P! Purses by Prada (black of course) have been a mainstay of my travel wardrobe for many years. The large size with a zillion pockets and zipper compartments is the workhorse of the travel trio. It gets me to my destination, loaded with all the paraphernalia one needs when traveling. Then it resides in my room for the rest of the trip. The medium size bag, with contents pared down to a minimum, is carried on day tours, and the small size (big enough for a room key, money, cosmetics, and camera is small enough to double as an evening bag. And the icing on the cake…they are all hand washable.
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| PURSES WITH A ‘P’ |
Shoes were a no-brainer. I planned to wear the heaviest pair of comfortable walking shoes and take several other pairs for comfort, as well as for style. For me that meant one pair of sandals, a pair of heels, and a pair of Toms for those times when everything ached. All lightweight, all easily packable. And the color…you guessed it.
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| BLACK, BLACK, AND BLACK HERRINGBONE |
What was once (in the days when I traveled with 3 suitcases) a luxurious black satin lingerie bag, served not only as a lingerie bag, but also as a pouch for makeup and toiletries. The zippered compartments separated undies, face make-up, eye make-up, and miscellaneous items like toothbrush, comb, deodorant, hairbrush and contact lens supplies.
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| DOUBLE-DUTY LINGERIE BAG |
Weeks before the trip, after making all my selections, I did a ‘dry run’ to see if all of the above would really make it into the carry-on. Here is what my packed rolling duffle looked like before closing it up.
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| IT’S ALL IN HERE! |
Everything in all of the above photos fit into this 22-inch carry-on. I had no trouble closing it, and there was still enough space to bring home a purchase or two for if I unzipped the expansion zippers
I can’t believe I finally did it. You can do it too!
Bon Voyage!
P.S. For those of you, like my husband, who insist you can’t fit everything you need into one carry-on, there is a matching 26-inch Falcon Rolling Duffle for checking through at airports. It looks like my 22-inch carry-on and has all the same features…with one exception. It doesn’t have the Checkpoint-friendly FastPass System and Portable Power Pack. The reason e/c/b/c eliminated that feature in the larger bag is because you should not pack your electronic devices in your checked baggage if you ever want to see them again.
Forbidden Flame
Some of the Forbidden Flame uses I can think of (saw in comments that it is mage?):
- Pyromancer - free 1 damage, similar to Circle of Healing
- Classes that cannot activate/kill your own minions easily
- Warrior - another way to activate your own minions e.g. Gromash Hellscream, Patron, Frothing Berserker, enrage minions
- Spelling enhancing minions - can activate or kill minions. Imagine with Malygos.
- Mage - free fireball with Antonidas. Free 2 damage with Flamewaker
Forbidden Shaping
- Help smooth out your mana curve
- Late minions can be game changing esp. at 8 or 9 mana.
Google Play patching that is causing the client to display pink/purple screens after patching to 4.2.
Workaround
- Go to the app settings and select clear data and then run the app again.
- Alternatively you can just delete and reinstall the app and that should resolve the issue.
The state with the most expensive car insurance premiums in 2016 goes to Michigan, they bag the top spot for third year in a row in the Insure.com’s 2016 state-by-state comparison of auto insurance premiums. Michigan average car insurance premiums is at $2738.
The 2nd spot goes to Montana at $2297, while New Jersey is in third with $1905.
Florida is the 8th spot they are paying an average of $1,654 annually for insurance, $329 higher than the nationwide average of $1,325.
Maine grabbed the No. 1 spot for the cheapest car insurance at $808 annually.
The rates are based on the average for the 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in order to present more accurate rates for the average driver, without high-end sports or luxury cars skewing the data.
National average $1325
1 Michigan $2738
2 Montana $2297
3 New Jersey $1905
4 Louisiana $1842
5 Oklahoma $1778
6 DC $1773
7 California $1752
8 Florida $1654
9 Maryland $1610
10 Rhode Island $1608
11 Delaware $1607
12 Georgia $1559
13 Texas $1510
14 West Virginia $1456
15 Wyoming $1421
16 Colorado $1393
17 Connecticut $1367
18 South Carolina $1353
19 Arkansas $1345
20 Alabama $1337
21 Massachusetts $1325
22 Pennsylvania $1305
23 Kentucky $1295
24 New Mexico $1277
25 Mississippi $1277
26 Oregon $1267
27 Minnesota $1257
28 Nevada $1221
29 North Dakota $1200
30 Nebraska $1188
31 Arizona $1188
32 South Dakota $1168
33 Washington $1168
34 Tennessee $1145
35 Kansas $1135
36 Indiana $1113
37 Alaska $1078
38 Utah $1061
39 Missouri $1056
40 New York $1050
41 Hawaii $1049
42 Illinois $1035
43 Virginia $1020
44 Iowa $989
45 North Carolina $987
46 Vermont $942
47 New Hampshire $941
48 Idaho $935
49 Wisconsin $912
50 Ohio $900
51 Maine $808
PART 4: SUNSET KEY: KEY WEST'S HIDDEN GEM
BY JANET STEINBERG
Sailing some 172 nautical miles from the port of Ft. Lauderdale on the first day of my 8-day Caribbean cruise aboard Silversea’s Silver Spirit, we arrived at Key West, Florida at eight o’clock in the morning.
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| SILVER SPIRIT DOCKED IN KEY WEST |
This was it! This was the day…the only day on the cruise that I was going to leave the ship. And that was because I wanted to have lunch at Latitudes, a divine waterfront restaurant on nearby Sunset Key. Years ago I had enjoyed a sunset dinner at Latitudes, but never had time to explore the island. This time I would both look and lunch.
Sunset Key is a secluded island escape just minutes from the activities and vibrant energy of Key West. This 27-acre island is just 500 yards off the coast of Florida’s cool and eclectic Key West. Transportation to and from Sunset Key is aboard Lil Princess, the resort’s 24-hour launch that docks at Sunset Key’s sister property The Westin Key West Resort & Marina. Guests with cars can arrive and park at The Westin Key West Resort & Marina, which is just across the waterway from Sunset Key. Then they are escorted to the resort boat launch for the seven-minute ferry ride to Sunset Key.
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| LIL PRINCESS SHUTTLES GUESTS FROM KEY WEST IN SEVEN MINUTES |
Upon arriving at Sunset Key, guests who are vacationing on the island are greeted by an island ambassador and escorted to their cottage. Since we were just off our Silver Shadow cruise for the day, we headed straight to Latitudes for lunch.
Perched on Sunset Key’s sandy shoreline, Latitudes restaurant and lounge offers casual island fare with a Caribbean flair. You can dine in the Ernest Hemingway Room, where photos of the author, fisherman and former Key West resident adorn the walls or you can choose outdoor dining overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
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| THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY ROOM |
Included in the price of every meal are sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico. If you choose to dine there in the evening, as I did on a previous visit, you’ll enjoy the tiki torches that illuminate the night sky magnifying the glorious Sunset Key sunsets.
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| LATITUDES’ TIKI TORCHES AND MOTHER NATURES SUNSET ILLUMINATE THE SKY |
Seated at a round café-style table overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, we sipped a Key Lime Colada. Latitudes’ secret recipe for the drink is blended with Bacardi Superior Rum and Keke Beach Key Lime Liqueur. The glass is topped with a Graham Cracker Rim. It tasted as good as it looked.
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| KEY LME COLADAS |
Latitude’s innovative, yet unintimidating, seasonal menu features local fish, fresh produce, and a variety of island classics. One of the fresh features when I was there was the Stone Crab Claws.
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BEST STONE CRAB CLAWS EVER |
Also seeming to scream out “taste me ” were the Lobster Quesadillas, an irresistible combo of sweet lobster, jack cheese, caramelized onions, basil fresh tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, salsa, guacamole, and chipotle crème. Unable to decide what I wanted to try, I did the only sensible thing I could think of. I ordered both items and divided them between my husband and me.
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| LOBSTER QUESADILLAS SCREAMED “TASTE ME" |
If you suffer from a sweet tooth, as I do, at 3 PM you can satiate your craving at the resort's newest complimentary service: the Conch Cruiser ice cream cycle that delivers free frozen treats daily. Listen for Carnagie Lee ringing his bell as he pedals his bright blue Eaton icicle tricycle equipped with a custom icebox full of gourmet gelato and sorbet along the resort's footpaths. (There are no motor vehicles allowed on the island). Flag down the Conch Cruiser and choose your favorite flavor. It makes for a sweet day on Sunset Key.
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| CARNEGIE LEE ON THE CONCH CRUISER |
And that’s not all. If you are a guest staying on the island, there are more daily treats in store! Every afternoon between 4:30-5:00 P.M. guests revive the Royal Navy sailors’ long-ago tradition of savoring a daily ration of rum at the outside bar known as Up Spirits! This ritual is a complimentary tasting of Latitudes’ own white or golden raw rum…straight up like the sailors did, or mixed in the Up Spiritscocktail du jour. Up Spirits daily ration will often read like this: Monday: Flavored Mojito; Tuesday: Rum Runner; Wednesday: Havana Daiquiri; Thursday: Hurricane; Friday: Dark & Stormy; Saturday: Planter’s Punch; Sunday: Key Lime Colada.
In addition to the waterfront dining, drinking and ice-creaming I mentioned above, Sunset Key (named the #1 resort in the Continental U.S. according to Travel + Leisure magazine's 2015 World's Best awards) features 40 custom-designed cottages, a boutique spa with private treatment suites, an exclusive manicured beach, two Har-Tru, lighted tennis courts, and a heated outdoor saltwater swimming pool.
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| HEATED SALTWATER SWIMMING POOL |
Shhh! Now that I’ve let you in on Key West’s best little secret tucked away on a paradisiacal islet in the stunning Gulf of Mexico, keep the name Sunset Key under your hat.
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| KEEP OUR LITTLE SECRET UNDER YOUR HAT |
JANET STEINBERG is the winner of 41 national Travel Writer Awards and a Travel Consultant with The Travel Authority in Cincinnati/Mariemont Ohio.
Donald Trump laid out his plan to reform the U.S. health care system after repeatedly pledging to repeal and replace Obamacare with something much better.
He posted his seven-point plan on his website (https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform). Besides, scrapping the individual health insurance mandate he also promised to allow competition over states lines for health care plans, and block grant Medicaid to the states, this will let them follow through on his prescription to "eliminate fraud, waste and abuse to preserve our precious resources."
He will also make individual health insurance premium payments fully tax deductible.
His plan clearly is in line with conservatives. He will also "reduce the number of individuals needing access to programs like Medicaid." "The best social program has always been a job and taking care of our economy will go a long way towards reducing our dependence on public health programs."
His plan also requires "price transparency" to let patients to "shop and find the best prices" for their medical care and removing the barriers to entry that currently make it more difficult for cheaper drugs from overseas to enter the American health care market.
He also calls for "reform our mental health programs and institutions in this country. Families, without the ability to get the information needed to help those who are ailing, are too often not given the tools to help their loved ones. There are promising reforms being developed in Congress that should receive bi-partisan support."
