Currently, only workers at assisted living homes and nursing homes such as nurses are subjected to criminal background checks in the state of Kentucky. These employees usually offer direct care services to residents. While the public hails this as a rational law, others said it is not fair to employees who have gone through criminal rehabilitation.

A new legislation was recently introduced to the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly that calls for criminal background checks to be conducted among all employees who provide long term care. The law would extend criminal background checks to dining room staff and even janitors.

The bill was introduced in response to a claim filed last year. It was found out by a Fayette Circuit Court that a maintenance worker employed in a Lexington nursing home was a registered sex offender.

The comprehensive law disallows assisted living communities or nursing facilities from employing people who have been convicted of a felony associated to theft, sale or abuse of illegal drugs, abuse, neglect, any sexual crime and sexual exploitation of adults.

The law was clearly created in view of cases where employees in nursing homes treated residents unfairly. Aside from financial exploitation, there were cases when workers took physical, emotional or sexual advantage of residents.

For almost five years, lobbyists have been working to draft a legislation that would subject all long term care employees to criminal background checks. These interest groups unanimously commended the legislation, with one lobbyist saying it is important, as it has a significant impact on the quality of people who take care of the aging population.

Senate Bill 44, a legislation similar to the recent bill, has also been introduced in the 2011 General Assembly, but it failed to pass. According to lobbyists, it failed because some legislators misunderstood the proposed bill. As of now, the new bill has not yet received any opposition from any industry representatives.

In June, the state received a federal grant worth $3 million to perform criminal background checks by making use of high-tech fingerprint technology in place of name based checks only. The grant was primarily used by employees in direct care facilities.

Subjecting all long term care employees from criminal background checks will help ensure the safety and protection of the aging population. The legislation is all about protecting the aging population from any exploitation, abuse or maltreatment.

The number of American consumers aged 50 years old and above who is concerned about future long term care has been increasing recently. This is according to a recent study conducted by Ontario-based Sun Life Financial Inc.

Prompted by the results of the survey, the life insurance company has launched a single premium whole life insurance policy called Sun Care Whole Life (WL). This policy has a linked benefit that can be applied to long-term care costs, which include costs for assisted living, nursing home facilities and in-home care.

Currently offered in 39 states, the policy may offer a long-term care benefit that is equivalent to up to three to seven times the value of the single premium of the policy owner. This depends on several factors like gender, age, smoking status and riders selected, said Sun Life Financial.

Based on figures from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about 70 percent of people aged more than 65 will need long-term care, usually for daily activities like getting dressed, bathing and eating.

Janet Whitehouse, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Individual Life Insurance Division of Sun Life, said the company wants to give those who need long-term care more freedom to choose the level of care that fits their needs, at a cost that won’t eat away their estate assets or retirement savings.

In addition, Bob Klein, Vice President of Strategic Planning for the company’s Individual Life Insurance Division, said the policy will provide a benefit either to the policy owner or to the beneficiaries. He went on to say that the policy has many possible benefits compared to traditional long-term care insurance, which only offers benefits if clients file for a long-term care claim. Traditional long-term care insurance also needs ongoing premiums to finance the policy and does not offer death benefit if policy owners never need long-term care.

The study also found out that about 60 percent of the respondents were concerned about the cost of long-term care, and were worried if they could afford them, while 87 percent of older Americans prefer long-term care at home, provided that it does not burden their love-ones. The survey also discovered that Americans are willing to live shorter if this means getting long-term care at home instead of an extended lifespan inside a long-term care facility.

In general, Klein said it is vital to plan for long-term care rather than panic about it.

As people get increasingly engaged in economic activities that leave them with little time to care for their loved ones, more senior citizens and physically handicapped individuals are either being admitted to nursing homes or left in the care of paid home care services. Long term care, consequently, is increasingly becoming more expensive especially for seniors incapable of performing obligatory daily activities such as dressing, moving from one point to another, toileting, and eating. The costs of long term care can easily wipe out a patient’s lifetime savings unless he or she has long term care insurance.   

Long term care insurance normally covers for costs incurred in home care, in nursing homes, adult day care centers, in assisted-living and Alzheimer’s facilities and for hospice care. A person who has purchased a long term care insurance policy is covered for all the care giver and therapy costs from the day he or she becomes incapacitated to perform activities of daily living (ADLs).

Long term care insurance also comes with a variety of other benefits that can be very supportive should you find yourself in need of long term care due to an accident or illness. Some of the benefits include:

·        Financial support

It would not be very comfortable to rely on children and other members of your family to financially support your long term care after you have used up all your savings. They also have their financial obligations to take care of and being an obstacle to their progress and aspirations in life will not be fair. A long term care insurance policy will cover expenses incurred in your care and save you the pain and inconvenience of depleting your lifetime savings much less family’s.

·        Exclusion from income tax deductions on benefits

The amount of tax deduction on premiums paid for long term care insurance usually depends on the age of the policyholder. However, all benefits accrued from a long term care insurance contract are usually exempted from taxation.

·        Long term care insurance goes a step further than other organizations such as Medicaid to provide cover for long term care at home, nursing home, or in an assisted-living setting. Medicaid does not provide cover for people who prefer to get long term care in their homes or in private settings.

There have been great improvements in long term care insurance policies in recent times due to consumer pressure. Before you buy make sure you get a long term care insurance quote from an independent broker. Qualifications for benefits have now been loosened with the introduction of lower premiums.