Over the years, I have been involved in my local area in teaching workshops on long term care planning and meeting with people and helping with their problems. Along the way, I felt compelled to learn everything about eldercare issues that I possibly could. I have written several books and produced most of the material for this web site which I believe is the most comprehensive and detailed information on long term care planning ever produced.

All of this experience led me to the conclusion that the American public is not doing a very good job of planning for long term care. Beginning in 2005, the entire focus of this site shifted to planning for long term care. A group of like-minded, concerned investors started a movement called the National Care Planning Council, which now owns this site and two others. The council promotes our concept of long term care planning nationwide and we intend to dovetail our efforts with a new national initiative for the same purpose from the Department of Health and Human Services.

I'm passionate about preparing for long term care. Susan, and I went through it with all four of our parents. We didn't have a life for five years. And at the age of 63, I suffer from an immune demyelinating neuropathy that results in disability and already requires me to rely on others for help. Because of my personal experience you can understand how anxious I am to promote long term care planning. My Story

If we could express the mission of this site and of the Council in a few words it would be,

We promote and support planning for long term care.

If you have any comments or suggestions please pass them along.

Sincerely,

Thomas Day
Director, National Care Planning Council

National Care Planning Council's Statement of Purpose

• To promote a public awareness of the need for long term care planning.
• To provide materials to educate the public on how to plan for long term care.
• To provide training to member eldercare experts who help the public plan for long term care.
• To promote the services and expertise of our members.
• To provide a forum for members to share ideas and marketing strategies.
  Click here to learn about joining the council

The Need for Long Term Care Planning

The National Care Planning Council and its affiliated members are dedicated to helping the American public recognize the need for long term care planning and to helping implement that planning.

The National Care Planning Council has identified seven logical steps that should be followed in order to thoroughly plan for eldercare. Click here for the seven steps.

An Appalling Lack of Planning among the Elderly
There is a pervasive and appalling lack of planning for long term care in this country. A recent survey by the John Hancock Insurance Company reveals that most seniors acknowledge the need for planning but very few actually do anything to prepare for long term care. The study found that 57 percent of the respondents worry about paying for long term care but 69 percent of respondents said they’d done little or no planning for long term care needs. Adding on those people who mistakenly think the government will cover their care or who think they can give away assets to qualify probably brings those failing to plan to about 80% or 90% of the senior population.

"Our survey suggests that Americans hold a number of alarming misconceptions about their potential need for long term care," said Laura Moore, senior vice president, John Hancock Long Term Care Insurance. "Clearly, long term care is difficult for Americans to think about - in fact, our survey suggests that they are in denial, taking a chance they won't need care or just ignoring the fact that they might," said Moore.

Caregivers Suffer Because Seniors Fail to Plan
Family caregivers, as well, suffer from a lack of planning by seniors. Caregivers often suffer from overwhelming physical and emotional stress, caregiver burnout and all too often, long-lasting family disputes and disagreements. Judicious planning before the need arises will relieve the burden on caregivers.

Long Term Care Can Be the Greatest Crisis Seniors Will Face
All elderly people regardless of current health should plan for this crisis in their lives. And indeed, long term care can be the greatest crisis an older person ever faces. With the need for care, the elder loses his or her grasp on the three most important lifestyle concerns in old age;

• Remaining independent
• Having enough money
• Maintaining good health

They all disappear with the need for care. No wonder elderly care recipients withdraw, become angry and lose an interest in living. And the cost of care can wipe out a lifetime of savings and destroy equity in a home.

A Younger, Pre-Retirement Generation Should Avoid the Mistakes of their Parents
The need for long term care will happen to about 6 out of every 10 people. Because of this huge risk, those who are still in the workforce should plan for the need for eldercare as they prepare for retirement. But for younger people, the seven steps do not normally unfold in a timely sequence. Planning for a younger generation needs to occur in two phases.

The first phase -- providing funding and putting legal documents into place -- should occur prior to retirement. Funding options such as special insurance plans or investments need to be initiated now. Aside from a reverse mortgage which may not work in some cases, common funding strategies cannot be done at an older age.

Long term care insurance can be the most cost effective way of providing future funding; but, insurance should be bought now, not in the future. If it appears expensive now, there's no way most people could afford this insurance at an older age. Costs are going up about 12% a year.

After retirement, when living arrangements are certain and family care advocates have been identified, the second phase is to complete the remaining steps of long term care planning.

Services of the National Care Planning Council

Education

Websites
From its inception, the goal of the National Care Planning Council has been to educate the public on the importance of planning for long term care. With that goal in mind, we have created the largest and most comprehensive source of long term care planning material available anywhere. This material -- "Guide to Long Term Care Planning" -- is free to the public for downloading and printing on all of our web sites.

Articles
We publish periodic articles under the title "Planning for Eldercare". These are available on our web sites as well as through a client mailing list.

Books
We are currently working on a long term care planning book to be released in 2007

Local Service Group, Association, Church and Worksite Presentations
As we gain experience over the next year in making educational presentations to common-bond groups and employees, we will make this presentation material available to the public beginning in 2007.

Workshops and Seminars
The founders of the National Care Planning Council have gained extensive experience conducting workshops and seminars for the past three years. This experience will eventually be packaged and distributed in the form of PowerPoint presentations and scripts available to the public in 2007.

Networking Support

The field of eldercare planning encompasses about 25 different specialties. Most of these services complement each other in the care of seniors and overlap very little. There is a natural tendency for professional caregivers to collaborate and refer their services to each other; but, it is not common for financial advisers, attorneys, mediators, reverse mortgage specialists, senior real estate and other non-caregiver specialists to network with caregiving specialists. As our membership grows, it is our intent to bring together these two "camps" in their local areas to provide comprehensive, "one-stop shopping" solutions to families dealing with the challenge of long term care.

Public Awareness Campaign

Recognition of Trusted Services
As the National Care Planning Council becomes more well-known, members will receive community recognition from being affiliated with the council. It is our intent to create an organization whose members deliver reliable and honest services. As prestige of membership grows so will our standards. We want the community to expect that our members are the best in their field.

Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Beginning in 2007, the NCPC will begin a concerted effort of news releases, opinion pieces and articles for the media on behalf of its membership. Local newspapers will be encouraged to contact local council members in their areas for interviews and articles.

Local Care Planning Groups
Beginning the third quarter of 2007, the National Care Planning Council will begin organizing state care planning groups around the country. The purpose is to formally organize cooperative marketing efforts from complementary care planning specialists in a local area. Based on our experience over the past three years, we will help these groups successfully find new people in their area to serve.

Because of their reputation, local groups will be referred by government and private aging services in their areas.