Identity Theft—What Is it and How to Prevent It

by Kristen Heck, President, Loyal Care

Print Friendly

On the heels of holiday mail is tax-related mail—reminders to begin organizing your financial paperwork for tax preparation.

How private is your personal information?
A lot of your personal information is on your tax-related paperwork—information you will exchange through the internet or postal mail. So we thought it timely to talk about keeping that information private—safely managing your personal information as a way to help prevent identity theft, now and always.

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information to commit fraud. Your personal information includes:

  • your name
  • your Social Security number
  • your driver’s license number
  • your date of birth
  • your address
  • account numbers at financial institutions, such as your bank, credit, investment, or mortgage account numbers
  • Medicaid and Medicare account information
  • answers to security questions often used with financial accounts (example: the name of your first grade teacher)
  • your personal identification numbers (PINs) or passwords you use to access your accounts at medical and financial institutions
  • information on your paycheck stubs
  • documentation from any medical or financial institution

Ways Identity Thieves Steal Your Information

Your mail box, purse, and wallet; and your email and online accounts are the objects of identity thieves’ affection. They hold the personal information thieves are after.

Identity thieves steal your hard copy or online information:

  • from your wallet, purse, or mailbox
  • from dumpsters (dumpster diving)
  • by changing your address: filling out a (1) “change of address” card obtained at the post office or (2) the “change of address” portion of your credit card statement pulled out of your mail box
  • over the phone or through email, under the pretense they’re a representative calling from a financial institution to “protect your security,” “verify your account,” or to get you to sign up for a nonexistent service

What Do Identity Thieves Do with Your Personal Information?

Essentially they create chaos in your life that could take months to deal with. Identity thieves steal your personal information for their gain—usually financial—and your loss.

Here is an example.

An identity thief steals social security numbers to open credit card account in victims’ names, uses the full credit limit to make purchases, then never pays for them.

Not paying bills is the single biggest hit to anyone’s credit score, meaning it could potentially fall to the point where a financial institution could deny credit, possibly at a time when it is really needed.

When victims become aware of identity theft, they open a case with each of the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and begin an exchange of information to rectify the situation. This can last for months.

Identity thieves also:

  • file for bankruptcy in your name to avoid paying back debts
  • give your name to the police during an arrest; when you don’t show up for the court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name
  • buy expensive items, such as a car, equipment, appliances, or furniture with a loan in your name
  • get a driver’s license in your name but with their picture on it

How to Prevent Identity Theft

Two rules of thumb will help protect you in the majority of identity theft attempts:

  1. Vigilantly protect your personal information!
    * Always know where it is—in your house, in your wallet, online—and carry as little of it in your purse or wallet as possible.
    * Shred any document that contains any of your personal information before putting it in the trash.
  2. Never, ever, give someone your personal financial information unless you initiate a conversation about it.
    For example, if you contact a medical or financial institution about one of your accounts, often you will be asked to identify yourself by stating your account number, the last four digits of your social security number, or the answer to a security question. It is safe in this case to give out your personal information.

    But, if someone you don’t personally know contacts you and asks for your information, either hang up, or, if you think it the call might be legitimate, ask the caller for a name and phone number and explain you’ll call back another time. You can either look up the phone number in the phone book or online to determine if the caller is trustworthy.

Again, be sure anyone who asks for your personal information has honorable intentions. If you can’t be sure, or suspect foul play, keep your personal information to yourself.

Please refer to these additional resources for more information about identity theft.

Deter. Detect. Defend.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) site on identity theft.

OnGuard Online
A consortium of U.S. government departments to help citizens safely use the internet.

Rutgers University Identity Theft Assessment Quiz

Loyal Care is a non-medical, in-home provider of private duty care located in Kalispell, MT, serving individuals needing short-term, long-term, or long-distance home-based care.

For information about our home-based care services, please visit www.loyalcaremt.com.

{ 0 comments }

Why Choose In-Home Care?

by Kristen Heck, President, Loyal Care

Print Friendly

With in-home care services, you get to choose only the services you need, and when and how often you receive them.

Receive personal and health care in your home.When appropriate, Medicaid and Medicare are encouraging individuals to use in-home personal care and in-home health services (also called Long-Term Support Services, or LTSS) rather than receiving comprehensive services offered by assisted living communities or nursing homes. The main reason for this is that Medicaid and Medicare are big payers of personal- and health-care services, which are administered by each state. And presently, states are strapped for cash.

In-home personal care and in-home health care services are less expensive than comprehensive care offered by nursing homes mainly because 24-7-365 care is not necessary. Individuals get to choose only the services they need, which may be required only several hours a day or a couple times a week.

When individuals opt for in-home care, Medicaid and Medicare save money and are able to offer more people more in-home services. Naturally, then, they are driving the development and improvement of in-home care service offerings.

Even if you are not Medicaid- or Medicare-eligible, using in-home care services allows you to make the most of your long-term care dollars because you can select only the services you need and when and how often you receive them.

Working with an In-Home Care Agency vs. Directly Hiring a Caregiver

You can look for an in-home caregiver on your own or work with an agency to find one for you. Whoever does the hiring, you or the agency, becomes the caregiver’s employer. As an employer, you are responsible for the following tasks:

  • screening home-aide professionals
  • conducting background checks (criminal, employment, drug)
  • paying the home-aide professional’s payroll tax and worker’s compensation
  • maintaining theft and liability insurance
  • arranging for backup care

An in-home care agency, on the other hand, takes responsibility for those tasks and works with you to find a caregiver suited to your personality and needs.

A Cost Comparison of the Types of Health and Personal Care

In October 2011, MetLife Mature Marketing Institute published a Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs. Its findings are summarized below.

You’ll note that in-home care costs are significantly lower than those for assisted living communities or nursing home care. While adult day care costs are lower than in-home care, adult day care services are often targeted for individuals with special needs, such as cognitive disorders or physical disabilities.[1] (Some adult day care centers, though, offer a variety of personal and health care services.)

Average National Costs

Type of Care Average Hourly/Day/Mo. Cost Average Total Annual Cost
In-Home Care Homemaker Home Health Aid Homemaker Home Health Aid
$19/hr $21/hr $19,760 $21,840
Adult Day-Care $70/day $18,200
Assisted Living Communities $3,477/month $41,724
Nursing Home Care Private Room Semi-Private Room Private Room Semi-Private Room
$239/day $214/day $87,235 $78,110

Source: MetLife 2011 Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs (PDF)

Average Costs for Montana*

Type of Care Average Hourly/Day/Mo. Cost Average Total Annual Cost
In-Home Care Homemaker Home Health Aid Homemaker Home Health Aid
$20/hr $21/hr $20,800 $21,840
Adult Day-Care $97/day $25,220
Assisted Living Communities $2,763/month $33,156
Nursing Home Care Private Room Semi-Private Room Private Room Semi-Private Room
$193/day $180/day $70,445 $65,700

Source: MetLife 2011 Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs (PDF)
* To find out long-term care costs for all states, see the entire MetLife Long-Term Care Costs report (PDF).

If You Live Far Away from Your Loved One

A study MetLife Mature Marketing Institute conducted in November 2008 stated that “23 percent of long-distance caregivers are the sole primary caregiver.”[2] Even though we couldn’t find a more current percentage, we noted that a lot of people are caring for loved ones from afar! But how do you do that?

In its September 2010 report, So Far Away, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) suggests that the following activities will help you either be the sole caregiver from afar or help someone else with the caregiving:

  • determine exactly what kind of care is needed (in-home, adult day care, assisted living, nursing home)
  • arrange for care through your own research, or, in the case of in-home care, work with an agency to find a suitable caregiver
  • assist with managing financial affairs such as online bill pay or depositing social security checks
  • create an emergency plan should your loved one need immediate assistance
  • make arrangements for personal care help such as grocery shopping or check-in visits from friends or neighbors
  • research information on long-term care insurance, in-home care agencies, medical equipment, and so on

****

While it takes time to learn how to go about getting the best personal or health care possible for your loved one, you have many excellent resources to help you through the decision-making process, including the staff at Loyal Care. Please contact us with your questions.

You may also want to refer to the following in-home care resources:

Selecting In-Home Care

Assessing Your Home-Care Needs published by ©Family Caregiver Alliance
Caregiving Checklist—Choosing an Agency for In-Home Care published by AARP.org.
Hiring In-Home Help published by ©Family Caregiver Alliance
Hiring In-Home Help—A Practical Guide for Consumers (PDF) published by Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services

Long-Term Care Insurance

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: National Clearing House on Long-Term Care information
Long Term Care Insurance: Understand Your Options Before You Buy published by pbs.org
Montana—2011 Long-Term Care Rate Comparison Guide published by Montana

Websites

AARP Caregiving Resource Center
MetLife Mature Marketing Institute
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Private Duty Care Association
USA.gov Caregiving Resources

[1] Essentials of Adult Day Services, MetLife Mature Marketing Institute, October 2010
[2] Since You Care: Long Distance Caregiving, Met Life Mature Marketing Institute, November 2008

Loyal Care is a non-medical, in-home provider of private duty care located in Kalispell, MT, serving individuals needing short-term, long-term, or long-distance home-based care.

For information about our home-based care services, please visit www.loyalcaremt.com.

{ 0 comments }

The Cost of Care: Making the Most of Your Home-Based Care Dollars

by Kristen Heck, President, Loyal Care

Print Friendly

In 2011, the average U.S. hourly rate for homemaker and home-health aide services ranges from $9 to $34. In Montana, that hourly rate ranges from $17 to $25. [1]

 

If only money grew on trees...making the most of your home-based care dollars.As you begin to assess how you will spend your home-based care dollars, or perhaps develop a budget for home-based care during your or your loved one’s elder years, you’ll want to assess non-dollar costs as well.

The Time Demands of Being a Home-Aide Employer

One of the early decisions you’ll make while looking into home-based care is whether or not you want to become an employer; that is, whether or not you want to hire a home aide professional yourself or work with an agency that does the hiring for you. Whoever does the hiring (you or the agency) becomes responsible for these administrative tasks:

  • screening home-aide professionals
  • conducting background checks
  • paying the home-aide professional’s payroll tax and worker’s compensation
  • maintaining theft and liability insurance
  • arranging for backup care

Naturally, then, the hourly rate you pay for a private-duty home aide is lower when you are the employer, for the home-aide agency includes the costs of those administrative tasks listed above in its hourly rate. But what about the time it will take for you to manage and complete those tasks? Or the expertise required to complete them accurately?

How you answer those questions will help you decide on whether you’d like to become an employer or work with a private-duty home-based care agency.

Assessing Reluctance to Ask for Help

If you are a primary caregiver, you know well the stress of providing your loved one quality care while managing your own life. You also know that maintaining high levels of stress over long periods of time is not good for your health. It might not be good for your wallet, either, should you have to treat the side effects of your stress.

Despite these considerations, you might be reluctant to hire outside care for a variety of reasons such as financial ability, guilt, and doubt (of finding a match to your own caregiving abilities).

If you feel both you and your loved one could benefit from outside care but are unsure of how to proceed, taking a couple small steps will help.

First, research private-duty, home-based care agencies in your area. Arrange visits with agencies of your liking to meet the people behind the agency and talk about your needs and reservations. You may be presented with care options you didn’t think of, moving you closer to continue providing quality care for your loved one while reducing your stress.

If your loved one is reluctant to receive care from someone other than you, consider buying him or her a gift certificate for, say, four to six hours of home-based care. You both get to experience first-hand what it’s like to have outside care without a long-term commitment.

Managing Costs of the Unknown

Long Term Care (LTC) insurance may help offset future out-of-pocket costs for home-based care during your elder years. But provisions of LTC policies vary among providers. It’s important to know early on exactly what benefits an LTC policy provides, or not, and what out-of-pocket expenses you need to plan for.

It’s impossible to know exactly what you or your loved one’s future financial needs will be. But you can create a budget, or spending plan, to help estimate those needs during your retirement years. In that spending plan you can create a long-term care savings “expense”—the amount of money you’ll set aside for potential long-term care needs.

Doing a bit of research now to create a long-term care plan can save you money in the future. Having to make last minute plans for unexpected expenses are usually the most costly.

In summary, factoring in the non-dollar costs of home-based care will give you the 30,000 foot view of what is involved in getting that care so you can make the most of your home-based care dollars.

[1] Genworth 2011 Cost of Care Survey

Related Reading
 A Short Overview of Long-Term Care Insurance
Genworth Financial: Compare Cost of Care Across the United States
Montana—2011 Long-Term Care Rate Comparison Guide published by Montana Commissioner of Securities & Insurance (Office of the State Auditor)
Guide to Long-Term Care (PDF) published by the non-profit American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
Assessing Your Home-Care Needs published by ©Family Caregiver Alliance
Hiring In-Home Help published by ©Family Caregiver Alliance

Loyal Care is a non-medical, in-home provider of private duty care located in Kalispell, MT. We serve individuals, including Medicaid-eligible, who need short-term, long-term, or long-distance home-based care.

For information about our home-based care services, please visit www.loyalcaremt.com.

{ 0 comments }

A Short Overview of Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance

by Kristen Heck, President, Loyal Care

Print Friendly

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides comprehensive information on Long Term Care (LTC) insurance—the types of programs available and potential options on how you might pay for them. Here, we give you a quick overview on LTC insurance benefits.

To help you get started on your search for Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance, we list below some benefits offered by LTC insurance providers. It is important to know exactly what benefits you are eligible for, long before you need them. That way you have time to make a plan for any out-of-pocket expenses you’ll be responsible for.

Each provision listed below affects the monthly premium you would pay:

  • Type of Care: may include home-based (skilled nursing, home-maker, and companion) care, respite care, adult daycare, nursing home, and hospice.
  • Elimination Period: the 30- to 90-day period after your long-term care benefits kick in but are not yet paid for by the insurance company; you must cover them out-of-pocket.
  • Length of Care: the number of years your policy will cover the costs of care.
  • Inflation Rider: protects against rising costs of care (inflation) over time.
  • Life-Time Maximum Coverage: the total dollar amount available to spend on long-term care.

Related Reading
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: National Clearing House on Long-Term Care information
Long Term Care Insurance: Understand Your Options Before You Buy published by pbs.org
Montana—2011 Long-Term Care Rate Comparison Guide published by Montana Commissioner of Securities & Insurance (Office of the State Auditor)
Guide to Long-Term Care (PDF) published by the non-profit American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)

Loyal Care is a non-medical, in-home provider of private duty care located in Kalispell, MT. We serve individuals, including Medicaid-eligible, who need short-term, long-term, or long-distance home-based care.

For information about our home-based care services, please visit www.loyalcaremt.com.

{ 0 comments }

Choosing an In-Home Care Agency: Not-So-Obvious Issues to Consider

August 29, 2011
Print Friendly

The pros and cons of choosing an in-home care agency are well-documented. So are the questions to ask that will help you make your final agency selection. But what are some of the subtleties you might consider to find out if the agency you want to select will meet or exceed your expectations?   You [...]

Read the full article →

The Story Behind Loyal Care–A Message from Loyal Care’s President

July 14, 2011
Print Friendly

In 1993 I found myself in dire need of non-medical, in-home care for my mother. At that time I was caring for my two young children, working, and caring for my mother full-time. I was exhausted and felt I couldn’t be the mother, employee, and caregiver I knew I could be. So I began looking [...]

Read the full article →

Making the Call—Why Is it so Hard to Ask for Help?

July 14, 2011
Print Friendly

How to view asking for help with daily activities or personal care as a way to gain independence.   It’s official: Asking for help is hard. It’s even harder to ask for help so you can save energy to do the things you like to do, rather the day-to-day activities you think you should do, [...]

Read the full article →

Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk

November 10, 2010
Print Friendly

Every 70 seconds, another person in the United States develops Alzheimer’s Disease.  Loyal Care was honored to be a corporate sponsor and participant in Flathead Valley’s first Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk held on Sept 26, 2010. The event raised over $14,000.00–the third largest amount raised in Montana! Thank you for your support of this important [...]

Read the full article →

Thought Provoking CBS News Story on Alzheimer’s Disease

July 9, 2010
Print Friendly

Jan Chorlton, a former television reporter and wife of Emmy-award winning journalist Barry Petersen, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at only 40 years of age.  This tragic story shows how a young, talented woman’s life and her family’s lives were changed upon the early-onset of Alzheimer’s.  Click here to watch video So Jan’s life wouldn’t [...]

Read the full article →