Why care about life care? – our luxury retirement community podcast

Life care gurus Margo Gilbert and Nitsa Foundos discuss everything you need to know about this fascinating yet complex topic – from our 2 different types of plans…to deciding which is the right choice for you. Other hot topics include long-term care insurance, how Medicare factors in, and Margo’s love for pets. For answers to your life care questions and more, this podcast is for you!

FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT FROM THE PODCAST:
Nitsa Foundos:
Hello. Welcome to living without limits a fun and informative podcast about the Arboretum villas at Plymouth Place here in La Grange Park, Illinois. I’m your host Nitsa Foundos. I’m so excited about today because I get to interview my friend and colleague Margo Gilbert. And by the way, she is a life care expert. Hi Margo!

Margo Gilbert:
Hi Nitsa. She also forgot to mention that we’re great friends and when you’re working in a community, it helps to have good friends that you can work with.

Nitsa Foundos:
I couldn’t do this job without you Margo. And I’m so grateful truly. And I’ll be nice today

Margo Gilbert:
Thanks.

Nitsa Foundos:
So Margo, we know that when it comes to controlling future costs, there’s only 12% of adults 65 and older that actually have a long term care insurance. And so over half of them will need some type of coverage or care. I mean, it’s bound to happen. And so why is a life care plan so important with that in mind?
Margo Gilbert:

Well Nitsa, life care is an insurance like product that will give you a discounted price on the different levels of care that we offer. You know what? We are also a five-star rated community. And that means a lot because when your loved ones or you need, or your spouse needs those higher care levels, you really want to be somewhere where you’re going to have excellent ratios of staffing, caring people, trained people.

Nitsa Foundos:
So, right. Margo, you know our depositors can choose between two types of contracts. Option number one is a modified life care contract. And the other one is a fee for service contract. What I’d like to do is start with what is a modified life care contract.

Margo Gilbert:
it’s a great solution for people who are independent and active. They want the peace of mind that their healthcare needs in the future, of course, are taken care of on all those levels. If they need assistance, skilled nursing, or memory support, it’s all here for them. They don’t have to worry and scramble to find a place or have their children find a place when they need that type of care.

Nitsa Foundos:
So, a modified contract is basically a policy that allows you to utilize a health benefit for the higher levels of care.
So let’s talk a little bit about fee for service contract. That’s the second option and this is truly new and innovative in a life care community.

Margo Gilbert:
You know, I think it’s really great Nitsa and it is cool that this product of fee for service is probably a first for many retirement communities. I don’t think anyone has done this yet.

Nitsa Foundos:
Remember that, when I came in the door almost a year and a half ago, I said, come on. We’re going to shake things up. And we’re going to introduce something that no one has embarked on or thought of… because this is a younger demographic because we are building living life without limits. I thought that it would be awesome to have people have the choice. You know, why do they have to be boxed into a plan?

Margo Gilbert:
Right. Normally that type of contract of fee for service benefits people who have long-term care insurance. So, they may not need that full modified life care contract. They may just do the private pay and their long- term care insurance will take care of much of the cost.

Nitsa Foundos:
So in essence, what that fee for service does, it removes the health benefit portion and you’re seeing entrance fees at a lower fee. So, it makes it a more reasonable opportunity because if you already have the insurance you’ve already planned for that, then you don’t need to have the additional healthcare benefit that we provide and that’s predominantly our product, but we’re giving them the choice.

Margo Gilbert:
And you know, I meet with many people over the years who do have the long-term care policy and I will ask them questions. Well, what is your limit? You have a limit. What does it cover? And I would say 75% of the people I meet would say, well, I bought the product like when I was 50 or 60, I haven’t looked at it in 15 or 20 years.

Nitsa Foundos:
That’s correct. So as Margo said, I think it’s time to dust those policies off you guys, and we’d be happy to review them with you and ensure that you have the proper coverage. And if you don’t, we’re going to be honest with you. The last thing we want is for you to have buyer’s remorse. We want you to have the personal experience of knowing that we’re going to guide you to make the best decision for you.

Margo Gilbert:
That is correct. And also people that I have spoken to have said, you know what? Medicare covers all of that. Why do I need you? Why do I need the Villas? Well, Medicare does not cover permanent nursing care.

Nitsa Foundos:
There’s a lot of misconceptions about Medicare and it’s a wonderful benefit to seniors, but they don’t quite understand that at all. And that normally you have 120 days of Medicare expenses covered within the first year, right? That’s what the Medicare allows you is up to 120 days.

Well, you know Margo, I think one of the biggest thing that we haven’t mentioned was the refundability of the entrance fees. So that’s another part of the life care component. We know that entrance fees are collected one time. It’s the point of entry, right? That’s the foundation of the community. And so tell the listeners how we equate entrance fees.

Margo Gilbert:
Well, the entrance fees at the villas are based on the square footage of your Villa. And it’s that one-time fee, when you no longer live at the villas, you get 90% back or your heirs do, or 70% back of that one-time entrance fee.

For those people who do not have children, the 70% can be a really good option because you have more discretionary income to spend. And when you leave, then you can leave that to a charity, or you can spend it all on yourself. Travel, but the 90%, some people want to leave a legacy to their families. And that gives them a little bit more to give back. And that’s really a neat thing. It’s your decision. Everything is your decision here.

Nitsa Foundos:
Well, here’s another concept. So people are coming to us much younger. That means their life expectancy is much greater. They may need that entrance fee to draw down for their higher level of care. You know, as you said, no one has a crystal ball. We don’t know how long we’re going to be on this Earth. But imagine that one time entrance fee, which is collected on the front end, can be utilized to help you financially with your care needs as you get older. You can either use it for your own health or leave it as a legacy for a charity or family.

So Margo, it is sort of like a savings, right? It’s like a little savings plan you have that remains with you for life within the community that you can do as you wish with that money, as it relates to your health.

Margo Gilbert:
That’s correct. And also because of the savings on the healthcare end, it’s going to stretch your estate for your charities or for your children. So actually it is. It’s like a little savings account that ensures also that you get that healthcare benefit when you need it.

And the other neat thing is if you outlive your assets, because we’re all living longer and longer.

Nitsa Foundos:
I sure hope so.

Margo Gilbert:
Yeah. So, if you outlive your assets, the villas will never ask you to leave. We will find solutions for you to stay here. That’s our mission at the villas, is to give you that peace of mind for the future.

Nitsa Foundos:
So Margo, I know you are so over enthusiastic about life care. It is such an interesting topic.

Margo Gilbert:
It is. You know what? It really helps people. It’ll help you to stretch your estate. It You’ll get the best benefits in the healthcare sector. That’s why we encourage people to come in because it can be overwhelming. I think I’m enthusiastic because when people come in to meet with the villas, you know what? I don’t know Nitsa. It’s relationship building. I tend to get attached to people.

Nitsa Foundos:
Oh my gosh, here we go.

Margo Gilbert:
That’s true. If you have any pets, you know what? I have dog biscuits. I’ll know the name of your pet. That’s just who I am.

Nitsa Foundos:
Yeah. So Margo, you’re the ying to my yang. I can tell you that we both have different intricate styles of discovery. And I usually tend to focus a lot on the financial aspect because I love numbers and you are the relational guru. And it just shows that we’re two unique, different individuals, but you know what? At the end of the day, we’re very passionate about what we do.

Margo Gilbert:
Definitely.

Nitsa Foundos:
But you owe it to yourselves to at least come in and speak to either Margo or myself. And if you have a pet, she’ll be sure and make sure that she knows everything about it. And if you really want to know if you can afford it, then you’re going to talk to me. But no, I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I’m kidding Margo. But anyways, you can see that we have a very lighthearted banter. We’ve been in this business a long time because we care about the outcome, and the outcome isn’t about the sale. It’s really about you.

Margo Gilbert:
Yes.

Nitsa Foundos:
You’re a true professional Margo.

Margo Gilbert:
Oh, I try to be most of the time.

Nitsa Foundos:
Margot, my friend, my colleague. Thank you so very much for joining me today. If you’d like to experience the Nitsa and Margo show, come on by, come and check us out. You can find us by calling us at (708) 482-6634. You can also visit the website at arboreumvillas.org. Go to our events page and sign up for our next life care presentation. You might be quite surprised anyways. Uh, we do have that Design Center, right downtown La Grange, 26 south La Grange Road, and say hello to Shelly. She’s a, a great gal. We’re open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30. Thank you so much, everyone for tuning into living without limits.
We look forward to talking with you again and until then I’m Nitsa Foundos.

Nitsa Foundos:
You did pretty good.

Margo Gilbert:
Pretty good? Well, I think I did well.

Nitsa Foundos:
No, I did the better.

Margo Gilbert:
See. You have to have the last word.

Nitsa Foundos:
That’s right.

Margo Gilbert:
Not!