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COPYRIGHT 2004 Thomson Financial Inc.
One good option for elderly people in need of cash to pay pricey long-term-care insurance premiums, according to the federal Medicare.gov Web site: home-equity conversion mortgages, commonly called reverse mortgages.
Based on the fact that many elders are cash poor but own homes--and their associated equity--outright, the Bush administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and members of Congress have been pushing HECMs as potential funding sources to help pay for private LTC coverage, whose cost rises steeply as one ages. "The money from a reverse mortgage" may "help pay for long-term care services through a long-term care insurance policy, annuity, out-of-pocket-or single premium life/long-term care policy," the Medicare.gov site notes.
The particular funding source federal policymakers have in mind is the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Federal Housing Authority HECM program, developed for homeowners age 62 or...
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