Financial Plan of Action: LTC and Hospice Care - Underserved Communities

Protecting Family’s Finances and Income from Destruction Due To Hospice and Long Term Care
Protecting, Managing Finances and Wealth for Upcoming Generations

AARP’s Knowledge Management survey, conducted five years after AARP's 1998 benchmark study of baby boomers. (Data were collected in 30-minute telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,200 Americans ages 38-57.  In addition, an oversample survey was conducted among African American and Hispanic baby boomers to yield a representative total (when combined with those in the general sample) of 309 African American and 301 Hispanic participants. 

1. Baby boomers are far more likely now than five years ago to describe themselves as knowledgeable about and favorably predisposed toward Social Security.
2. Boomers are more confident now than five years ago that Medicare will be available when they reach age 65.
3. Boomers remain optimistic about retirement, but their expectations, particularly those related to finance, have become much more conservative.
4. Boomers' primary definitions of retirement, however, are largely unchanged since 1998: as an opportunity to spend more time with family, to pursue hobbies and interests, and to enjoy leisure.

AARP’s Caregiving Report “In the Middle: A Report on Multicultural Boomers Coping with Family and Aging Issues” reported that sandwich generation boomers comprise 44% of those age 45 to 55. This means that they have aging parents as well as children under 21. The report suggest that a nation as diverse as the United States, there are inevitably differences in how well they are coping, and the types of care they give, but majorities in every racial and ethnic group believe that they are coping well and use similar coping mechanisms to address the needs of three generations. (The analysis in this report is based on the results of a national telephone survey of 2,352 midlife Americans (including 404 African Americans, 429 Hispanics, and 351 Asian Americans) conducted between March 8 and March 31, 2001, using English and Spanish versions of the questionnaire. The survey was conducted for AARP by Belden Russonello & Stewart and Research/Strategy/Management.

Now a Real Concern: Long Term Care and Hospice Care Of Increasing Aging Populations
Today...2009 a much different picture exist as the Baby Boomers struggle to help their parents meet long term care and hospice cost. This is actually siphoning off savings and wealth needed to maintain the quality of life for the Boomer and their offspring… Generation X and the Millennials.

America’s 5 Living Generations

• G. I. Generation (Born 1901-1926)
• Silents (Born 1927-1945)
• BOOMERS (Born 1946-1964) (Sandwiched and need help)
• Generation X (Born 1965-1981)
• Millennials (Born: 1982-Present)

What are the Difference between Hospice Care and Long Term Care?

Long Term Care –LTC provides personal care and limited medical care to someone who is unable to carry out the activities of daily living –ADLs such as eating, bathing and dressing necessitated because of chronic illness, disability or frailty. Long term care is provided to individuals in their homes, in community settings or nursing homes.
Hospice Care is rendered either on an inpatient basis or in the home setting for a terminally ill patient. (The patient is dying.) Often referred to as "palliative" or "supportive" care, hospice care emphasizes the management of pain and discomfort and the emotional support of the patient and family.

Auburn Mountain Consumer Outreach for Families Affected by Long Term Care and Hospice Care
As families comes to the financial rescue of older family member…the young ones are left unprotected from the financial storms that occur e.g. the quality of life falls, college education is unattainable…the family lifestyle effectively slips into a lower or very lower income status. Auburn Mountain Financial Education Services works with other professionals to help maintain or improve the financial health of these underserved to working class families. We will help work with physician assistants and registered nurses as they counsel Hospice and LTC patients and families at the onset of an illness and throughout the period.

As the physician puts a Medical Plan of Action or Recovery Plan in place…we will put a Financial Plan of Recovery in Place. 

• Target Group: Middle to Low-Income families
• Geographic Targets include Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Florida and New Orleans
•  Project Goal: Help low-income families develop Financial Plan of Action for their family members who are unable to carry out ADLs.

Objectives:

• Promote free services through media that are likely to be seen by the target groups
• Work with partner organizations (AGC, NAPGCM, etc.) on strategies
• Form teams with geriatric care managers and lawyers.
• Help 200 to 400  families to develop FPAs.
• We will carry out our mission thru collaboratives with professionals and associations already doing work in this area of “Elder Care”. Targeted relationships include:
  • Credentialed Financial Advisors with Elderly Care and special needs Planning focus.
  • The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) at  http://www.aapa.org
  • The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) http://www.paeaonline.org
  • Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants at http://www.afppa.org
  • Association of Physician Assistants in Cardiovascular Surgery at http://www.apacvs.org
  • American Hospice Association at http://www.americanhospice.org/index.php
  • NAELA - National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys at http://www.naela.org/
  • Wealth Counsel Attorneys at http://www.wealthcounsel.com/AttorneySearch.aspx
  • The American Geriatrics Society | http://www.americangeriatrics.org
  • Geriatric Mental Health Foundation | http://www.gmhfonline.org/gmhf/about.html
  • National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) | http://www.caremanager.org 

Note: A majority of GCMs provide family counseling and assess a client's financial resources. Less than one-third of the current GCMs offer general financial planning, however. GCMs reported that they often interact with other professionals in the course of their work. (See Figure 3 at http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/graphics/dd82_care_3.gif ) Also See Geriatric Care Managers. Also take a look at Partnerships at http://www.slideshare.net/tinacheplick/geriatric-care-managers-partnerships

 Get more details from the Grant Proposal:
Auburn Mountain Application For Grant From FINRA Investor Education Foundation