We’re pleased to have you meet Carol Einhorn who has much to tell us and lots of excellent advice. Along with her post, you will find her from now on as one of our ElderExperts. On that page, you’ll find some questions, based on her outstanding experience, which may help many of you in making a key decision. Carol will be happy to hear from you via responses to this article and the ElderExpert page questions. You will find her very responsive and a wonderful addition to this blog.
My New Career by Carol Einhorn
Twenty four years ago to this very day my dad died. Little did I know then that this event, and more specifically the events leading up to his death, would launch me on to a new career.
My Dad, a Certified Public Accountant (as well as a singer, baseball fan and former minor leaguer, and a golfer) was thorough and extremely detail oriented. In his pre-computer world he would not accept even a ten cent discrepancy in tax return calculations and would work assiduously until any errors were resolved. He was an organizer and a planner. One thing he did not plan for, however, was the need for a heart transplant in his mid-sixties. Unfortunately, the surgery and extensive care he needed after the procedure (although the new heart worked just fine, other organs had deteriorated due to the wait for the heart) was extensive, extraordinarily costly and ultimately not successful. Of course, the emotional toll on our family was enormous. In addition, the extraordinary cost of his care was incomprehensible and would have been devastating had the facility not “forgiven” a portion of the cost. I came away from this experience understanding three aspects about our health and aging.
1. Although we can eat right, exercise and take care of our bodies, much of our health is not in our hands.
2. When a loved one dies, the emotions we experience- from anger to sadness, to pain to depression- are authentic and cannot, nor should not, be avoided.
3. The financial aspects of requiring care IS often within our power to control if we take the necessary steps BEFORE there is a crisis.
And so my new career was launched. Already licensed as an insurance agent since my husband was in the insurance business, I left the world of teaching and tutoring high school Spanish and began learning about a relatively new product called Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI). Although LTCI is certainly not a panacea, for many it is an effective way of protecting assets and enabling quality care in one’s own home, a family member’s home, an adult day care setting, an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Whether or not long term care insurance makes sense for an individual depends on a large number of factors. However, for many it is something to consider when doing our pre-retirement or retirement planning.
Over the last twenty three + years, I have met with thousands of individuals considering whether or not long term care insurance makes sense for them and their families, I have testified before the PA State House Insurance Committee, I have served as a consultant for a number of insurance companies, I have authored numerous articles about long term care insurance, I have appeared on T.V. and radio programs discussing the “good, bad and ugly” of long term care insurance. It has been and continues to be a good, rewarding career. I am passionate about what I do and on the anniversary of my dad’s death, I thank him again for helping me find this reward and passion.
Take a look at the questions on the ElderExperts page and feel free to comment or call for more information.
I did not expect this would be a venue for a sales pitch.
Hi Florence, Thanks for writing. Actually, ElderChicks.com is not a venue for a sales pitch. We are particularly careful about any links we provide and about anyone we present as an ElderExpert. Although many have asked, we have never accepted anyone’s offer of payment to be an ElderExpert, nor do we pay anyone.
In each case, including Carol’s, we consider the person’s expertise, ability and willingness to respond to our bloggers’ questions and comments promptly before asking them to join our blog.
Carol is highly respected in her field and as someone who cares genuinely about helping with the kinds of decisions that many of us may face. We greatly appreciate her willingness to share her personal and professional experience with all of us who are interested.
As you will see, we insist all our experts provide full identification, enabling anyone who so wishes to contact them on or off the blog.
I had the same reaction as Florence.
I did too. But I’m delighted to have read this piece, and if I didn’t already have LTCI, I’d be happy to know about it. Perhaps with other vendors, you could tell readers that if they would like to contact the writer, you would be the liaison.
I truly understand any initial reactions that having a long term care insurance specialist as a contributor could be viewed as a “sales pitch”. I hope my story about my Dad serves as a backdrop to build some credibility about my true passion to help people who are facing some of these long term care issues. Long term care insurance is complicated. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There are many who swear LTCI is the best thing since sliced bread. It isn’t. Many consumers are misinformed or pressured into buying something they shouldn’t have or don’t need. I hope to be able to provide honest, accurate information to help in this arena.
Carol Einhorn
While it seems that many people here are having a negative reaction I feel like this is really helpful to have some information about options. Whether it’s a “sales pitch” or not. Despite Carol’s affiliation in the industry it was still nice to hear her story and her side of things. Keep up the good work elderchicks!