Robert Powell of MarketWatch reported on Fox Business that 4 major insurers are already creating programs for this new law.  Read It Here (New Window)

New Hybrid Products Give Consumers More Choices

Four insurers have already created products for this market: United of Omaha, Genworth Life, Bankers Life, and OneAmerica have all created hybrid products that combine annuities with long-term care insurance. More are expected later this year before the new law goes into effect in 2010.

"...a fairly high percentage of older Americans will need long-term care for at least two years -- and that care is expensive..."

These new products will help consumers pay for that care and come in two varieties already; chances are more will be developed as the market emerges. The more choices a person has to plan for their long term care needs the better.

Frances Dagumboy of infoLongTermCare.org has posted a new article about Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders In Seniors. Read It Here (New Window)

Useful Long Term Care Medical Articles

This site always has useful articles concerning the medical aspects of long term care and the diseases most commonly associated with it.

Here's a small segment:

"TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint, the joint that connects our lower jaw called mandible to the temporal bone of the skull. However, TMJ is commonly used by many people to refer to a group of conditions that affect the temporomandibular joint itself. Some practitioners include dysfunctions of the neck in this group. Currently, more than 10 million people in the United States have TMJ disorders."

The article continues to discuss the causes and risk factors, the diagnosis and treatment as well as the prognosis and care plan that would be involved with TMJ.

Darla Mercado of Investment News has written an insightful article about proposed nationalization of Long Term Care insurance and some possible solutions.  Read It Here (New Window)

On Future of Government Funding of Long Term Care

To quote Dallas L. Salisbury, president and chief executive of the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington:

"We won't see anything to move in the direction of more funding for long term care"

In addition to reporting about two proposed government programs, the rest of the article is about the affordability of acute home care vs. a nursing home and some alternative proposals as well.