Here’s Ben Lipson’s response to my comments that he is hurting with people by warning them away from long-term care insurance – a position that I feel strongly that he is not qualified to take. At the end, you’ll see my response.

Insurance Ombudsman Doing a Disservice? Don't Bet On It

Author and consumer advocate Ben Lipson responds to industry criticism that he's misleading seniors about long-term care insurance.

BOSTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Can seniors get better odds at a gambling
casino than when buying long-term care insurance? Benjamin Lipson, author of
" J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance and independent
insurance broker and consumer advocate for decades, says yes.

Phyllis Shelton, president of LTC Consultants and an authority on LTC
insurance, says no. Shelton, while she has a respectable record in the
insurance business, is hardly an impartial voice for the consumer. She's
helped train more than 35,000 agents and has advised some of the largest
companies on LTC insurance marketing. Shelton recently posted this comment to
Lipson on her website: "You are doing a huge disservice to Americans" when he
advises them that not everyone needs LTC insurance and to beware the intense
marketing campaign that's currently under way to sell it to them. "Long-term
care insurance is middle America's only shot at dignity as they get older . .
. . God help you for the families you are hurting."

But Lipson shrugs off the criticism. "Long-term care insurance is a risky
product because premiums are not guaranteed for life. I always advise seniors
that, if the purchase of LTC insurance will alter their lifestyle and quality
of life because of its cost, don't buy it."

Indeed, in "Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance," Lipson devotes
an entire chapter to alternatives to the policies. "I wrote the book to arm
consumers with questions they should ask the insurance agent who's trying to
sell them an LTC policy. Those questions are the ones insurance companies hope
you never ask."

That's why the insurance industry has been less than happy with his book.
Since its publication in March it has attained high sales in comparison with
other books of a similar subject.

"I will continue to speak out for the rights of seniors. I will not be
intimidated by the long-term insurance industry."

"In the book I included 20 methods of emotional blackmail agents use to
close a sale on the first visit and how to combat them. Now, here I am, the
target of a guilt trip by Shelton."

Simply put, Lipson says, LTC insurance is not for everyone, and anyone
considering it should be very careful about where they put their money. "Too
many seniors already have to make agonizing choices between putting food on
the table or buying prescription drugs. Buying an insurance policy should not
be forced on such people."

Lipson's advice this holiday season for children with aging parents: "Give
your parents the peace of mind they have rightly earned by assuring them they
will provide for their financial, emotional and financial support in their
golden years. That's the best long-term care insurance of all."

Benjamin Lipson has been a consumer advocate and newspaper columnist for
more than two decades. Known for his work on patient rights and senior health-
care issues, he has written more than 500 articles for the Boston Globe. He is
observing his 50th year as an independent insurance broker. His e-mail address
is benlipson@aol.com.

MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here
http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X68611843

SOURCE Ben Lipson Author J.K. Lasser's "Choosing the Right Long Term Care
Insurance" Published by John Wiley & Sons Inc.
-0- 12/18/2002
/CONTACT: Ben Lipson, benlipson@aol.com

And my response to this? I’ve NEVER said LTC insurance is right for everyone, and I train agents to always financially qualify people and tell them if Medicaid is an option for them. Quite frankly, married couples with assets less than $100,000 are most likely Medicaid candidates, assuming their income qualifies as well. But there are people with lower assets who make a conscious choice to purchase LTCI because they want the same treatment and choices as a private-pay patient and they realize LTCI is the only way to get those things. But I totally agree people should not sacrifice the necessities of life in order to pay premiums. Those are the people Medicaid is designed to help. Now if their children want to pay LTCI premiums for them, that’s another story.

Finally, Mr. Lipson’s last comment in his response to “give your parents the peace of mind they have rightly earned by assuring them they will provide for their financial, emotional and financial support in their golden years”, might I ask HOW the children are supposed to do this? HOW will they pay an average of $60,000 annually now, tripling in 20 years, PLUS send their own children to college, PLUS save for their own retirement? Very few adult children can accomplish all three without the help of long-term care insurance.

Phyllis Shelton, 1/1/03

Journalist Ben Lipson not qualified to make negative statements about LTC insurance

Ben,

I think you are doing a huge disservice to Americans by issuing the opinion you just did - I happen to believe that long-term care insurance is middle America's only shot at dignity as they get older. If your press release is responsible for even one family refusing to buy long-term care insurance and having a loved one wind up in a Medicaid nursing home with two roommates and no privacy and dignity, you should be ashamed.

And please reconsider the impact that you have having on the economy. If the baby boomers fall onto any kind of public assistance, we will be faced with unprecedented taxation.

I really don't think you are qualified to make the statement in your press release that "Long-term care insurance is not necessarily the answer for most Americans," and that "You'd get better odds at a gambling casino than with insurance companies."

I will publish your press release on my website along with this rebuttal. God help you for the families you are hurting.

Phyllis Shelton, Pres.
LTC Consultants

To Buy -- Or Not To Buy -- Long-Term Care Insurance

Insurance ombudsman and author Benjamin Lipson warns that the rush to sell long-term care policies could harm consumers.

HOBOKEN, N.J., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy-three million Americans are now over 50, a demographic not overlooked by the insurance companies that sell long-term care coverage. That's a huge market in anybody's book and the selling campaigns are intense.

And what a market. Today's older Americans are affluent, but facing pressures from an uncertain securities market and low interest rates; more alert to the potential health problems that can require long-term care; and more fearful of how long-term health care costs can wipe out hard-won assets. Benjamin Lipson, author of "J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2002), has news for the concerned but unsuspecting consumer: Not everyone needs to buy long-term care insurance. The consumer ombudsman of 20 years' standing explains:

"I dedicated a whole chapter of the book to alternatives to long-term care insurance. That's why it's the book many insurance companies hope you never read.

"I wrote the book to arm consumers with information about the product and to give them the proper questions to ask, questions insurance companies hope you never ask."

Lipson is critical of the insurance industry's marketing tactics, which play up to seniors' fears. "Everyone knows consumers will go bankrupt with expenses if their health declines, but what they want is security and independence."

Long-term care insurance is not necessarily the answer for most Americans, Lipson argues. "You'd get better odds at a gambling casino than with insurance companies."

The insurance industry has been less than happy with his book, but Lipson says he believes consumers need to know what to look for. He advises those considering buying long-term care insurance to review their options with an individual broker who does not have ties to any one company and can help you shop.

"Buying insurance is one of the most difficult decisions a consumer faces," Lipson has written, "and buying long term care insurance is perhaps the most difficult of all."

Says syndicated health columnist Judy Foreman about "Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance":

"Ben Lipson's extremely readable new book . . . (is) the best I've seen in many years on long-term care insurance. He has the inside knowledge of a salesman and the no-nonsense style of a journalist. The real point Lipson stressed is 'to live out your life independently and with dignity. Never buy a policy out of fear driven by emotional blackmail. Just do your homework and learn the true facts.' "

Benjamin Lipson has been a consumer advocate and newspaper columnist for more than two decades. Known for his work on patient rights, senior health- care issues and long-term care insurance, he has written more than 500 articles for the Boston Globe. He is observing his 50th year as an independent insurance broker (benlipson@aol.com).