Kiplinger Unveils Educational Video On Long-Term Care
Washington, DC - Kiplinger recently unveiled an educational personal finance video on long-term care that covers what it is, how it's delivered, how much it costs and how to pay for it. "Kiplinger's No- Nonsense Look at Long-Term Care," written and produced by Kiplinger Washington Editors, is designed to be an informative, consumer-friendly review to help people prepare for the possibility of someday needing this care.
"There's no question, long-term care is a serious issue today for individuals, businesses and our country," said Knight Kiplinger, "and the issue is only going to grow. We felt we were in a unique position to be able to create an honest, unbiased review of what can be a difficult subject. This is the kind of straightforward, "so what?" journalism our magazine has been practicing for 60 years.
"We like to say we put the 'personal' in personal finances," Kiplinger continued, "which is why our video mixes expert advice with real-life stories of families who are living long-term care."
Long-term care services are received by 12 million people today (1). Care giving by family members can take a toll on those individuals' finances, family life and work life. The cost of care can be expensive - whether the care is received at home or in a nursing home. Planning can make a dramatic difference in the ability to have options when the time comes for care, as well help relieve some of the burden of family caregivers. In the next few decades, as costs continue to rise and the number of people needing care rises dramatically as the Baby Boomers age, planning for one's care will grow in importance.
The Kiplinger video was underwritten by John Hancock Life Insurance Company, which has undertaken many long-term care educational efforts over the past 15 years. "We've recently conducted research that suggests that Americans still lack basic knowledge about long-term care," said Laura Moore, president, John Hancock Long Term Care Insurance. In fact, the survey found that a majority of respondents failed a 14-question quiz on LTC basics, with most answering only six correctly.
"Knowing that information can help people to address the situation and potentially create a much better outcome, we were pleased to support the development of Kiplinger video and are using it, along with our research, to raise awareness about long-term care," said Moore.
The video will be the centerpiece of a new Long-Term Care Center on the Kiplinger Web site (www.kiplinger.com) and will also be available on the John Hancock website (www.johnhancocklongtermcare.com). It also will be given to John Hancock's long-term care insurance field force to be shared with clients. The firms are working on additional national distribution opportunities.
The long-term care video was Kiplinger's first recent foray into developing educational material in a longer format video. "We've been thinking about video as another means -- in addition to our print and online publications -- to making reliable personal finance information available to the public," said Kiplinger.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has been providing millions of Americans with down-to-earth advice on managing their money and achieving financial security since 1947. Along with Kiplinger.com, it is a highly trustworthy source of information on saving and investing, taxes, credit, homeownership, paying for college, retirement planning, car buying and many other personal finance topics.
(1) The Caregiving Project for Older Americans, "Caregiving in America" 2007
SOURCE: Kiplinger