We recorded "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" along with a few other classics about 15 years ago. My husband, Paul, is the guitar master, and I am playing flute.

Please enjoy, and share with those you care about most as you gather to celebrate this week.

As Christians, our family is celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Whatever you celebrate this season, do so with love and joy in your hearts.

If you're weary, lay still and hear the angels sing as they bring peace throughout the world.

I pray for blessings over each of you today, and into 2026 (and beyond).

Sending hugs to everyone.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

When discussing worksite LTC with employers, two question come up all the time -

1) How much work do I as an employer or HR director have to put in?

2) I heard LTC insurance is expensive. How much more will the company be spending to add this benefit?

Jason Dutra clearly addresses both of these questions this week.

For more info, reachout to me diane@preparing4tomorrow.com

Or research first at https://buddyins.com/

Jason's email is jason@buddyins.com

When asking him or the team for more info, be sure to let them know I sent you so we can connect that way.

That title is an oxymoron. Truthfully, if you'll never qualify for Medicaid, that means you'll pay for all of your long term care needs yourself.

In this week's episode we're sharing things you need to consider today, long before care is needed.

You need to prepare for tomorrow's needs today, whether you choose to own insurance or not.

You need to create a roadmap for your caregivers to follow if you're unable ot unwilling to communicate your wishes when you need extended care.

In today's episode, Diane shares what is involved in creating that roadmap.

To help you prepare for where you'll be living when retired, use https://www.carescout.com/cost-of-care

Be sure to use 5% inflation when looking at future costs as that is the inflation growth we've seen over the last three decades.

Then, schedule some time with me to learn what kinds of plans can be available to help pay for your potential needs without breaking the bank.

Schedule here

Diane received an email this week from a long time listener who received a notice of a 301% rate increase request from his LTC insurance company.

This episode discusses the process of requesting and seeking approval for rate increases.

This process is heavily regulated from multiple angles. It's definitely not a random insurance company tactic to create more profit or to force policy holders to cancel their policies.

I know it seems like it sometimes.

Rate increases cause a lot of headache and extra work and payroll expense to the insurance companies as well. They don't want to have to increase rates.

I was going to post the link to the court decision here, but the header on the document says I can't.

If you want to find it yourself, look up "New Jersey court prevents LTC rate increase". You'll find it.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) consists of Commissioners from all 50 states. They have a Rate Stability Rule you can read about here

If you really like reading about this stuff, the American Association of Actuaries Compliance Guide can be found here

Let's find time to have a converstion and determne if and wht kind of and amount of benefits can help your family when that need shows up. Schedule here

Thank you all who are listening to these podcasts and for the great feedback you've shared over the years.

I can't believe we're in our sixth year already.

I'm so thankful that these poscasts are helping so many people learn about long term care and all the strategies available to protect our families.

Enjoy your family this Thanksgiving weekend, and always be thankful.

If you're ready to plan for your family, schedule here

This week, Jason and Diane discuss UNUM's February 2026 ceasing of LTC group and employer sales.

How should employers and employess react to this decision?

What are the next decisions that must be made?

What can employers now offer to newhires?

Should current policyholders keep their policies?

When you don't have answers, the best thing to do is talk with a long term care planning specialist like myself.

I will help you determne what questions you should be asking as well as work through the answers with you.

Each employee's family is unique and LTC needs are different for each family.

If you have questions about UNUM or any other LTC plan ceasing sales, schedule some time to discuss this here

We need to recognize the contributions and sacrifices that family caregivers make to help those they love who can't provide for their own daily needs.

The reason most people own LTC insurance is to help those caregivers to not feel alone and isolated.

If you don't own LTC insurance and you want to protect your family, assets and choices, schedule time with me to plan here

Below are many resources to help caregivers help their loved ones better.

Administration for Community Living https://acl.gov/

Alzheimers Association https://www.alz.org/

American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging https://leadingage.org/

Aging Life Care Association https://www.aginglifecare.org/

National Council on Aging https://www.ncoa.org/

Senior Homes https://www.seniorhomes.com/

Assisted Living Foundation of America http://www.alfahousing.org/

National Center for Assisted living https://www.ahcancal.org/Assisted-Living/Pages/default.aspx

Memory Care Facility Locator https://www.memorycarefacilities.net/

Today's Caregiver magazine https://caregiver.com/

National nursing home database https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/?redirect=true&providerType=NursingHome

There are others, but this is a good start.

This week, I'm kind of on a soapbox.

It seems that some people will keep asking about LTC insurance until someone tells them they don't need it. No one knows if we'll need help living at some point or not.

We need to ask ourselves who the insurance is going to help. We're going to get care whether we plan or not.

We need to ask oursleves who wil suffer the consequences of our failure to plan. It's the people helping us.

We say we don't want to "burden our family", but by not discussing where we want to live, who we want helping us and how we will pay for care, by default, we are burdening them.

Please review current and projected costs of care where you live here and please use at least a 4% annual increase in costs as we've seen that and more across the country over the last three decades.

Then, schedule a phone or zoom meeting with me to design your family's plan here