Growth, Value, or Both
The average annual return for large-cap value stocks was about 2.1% higher than for large-cap growth stocks, yet growth stocks outperformed value stocks in 13 out of 30 years. This article examines the difference between the two approaches and describes why holding both may help investors take advantage of a variety of market conditions.

Insurance for Two Could Benefit Your Heirs
Survivorship life insurance offers a way to help a couple’s heirs pay estate taxes, probate costs, and other final expenses — and could be especially important after 2012 when the federal estate tax is scheduled to be significantly higher. Even if the estate tax doesn’t apply to an estate, the insurance proceeds could benefit heirs or a favorite charity.

For Better, For Worse: Communicating About Retirement
A recent study indicates that couples are not communicating clearly about retirement goals and strategies, even as they approach retirement age. This article offers suggestions to open a dialogue and encourages couples to discuss their retirement needs and desires with each other and with their financial advisor.

Are Consumers Holding the Keys to a Better Economy?
Consumer spending still accounts for about 70% of gross domestic product, but some government statistics suggest that consumers may have reduced spending drastically in recent years, especially on discretionary items. High unemployment, household debt, and a general lack of confidence can affect consumers’ ability and willingness to spend.

Retaining MVPs with Executive Bonus Life Insurance
An economic recovery is likely to bring more job opportunities to top performers, but it could prove costly for businesses to replace productive employees who decide to leave. An executive bonus plan funded with cash-value life insurance can be used to reward and retain an organization’s most valuable employees.

This material was written and prepared by Emerald.
© 2011 Emerald Connect, Inc.

Judy Henry Health Insurance can help you find the right long-term care policy.

The odds that you will need some kind of long-term care increase as you get older.

Self-Insurance as an Option

To self-insure — that is, to cover the cost yourself — you must have sufficient income to pay the rising costs of long-term care. Keep in mind that even if you have sufficient resources to afford long-term care now, you may not be able to handle rising future costs without drastically altering your lifestyle.

The Medicaid Option

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that covers medical bills for the needy. If you qualify, it may help pay for your long-term-care costs. Unfortunately, Medicaid is basically welfare. In order to qualify, you generally have to have few assets or will need to spend down your assets.

State law determines the allowable income and resource limits. If you have even one dollar of income or assets in excess of these limits, you may not be eligible for Medicaid.

To receive Medicaid assistance, you may have to transfer your assets to meet those limits. This can be tricky, however, because there are tough laws designed to discourage asset transfers for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid. If you have engaged in any “Medicaid planning,” consult an advisor to discuss any new Medicaid rules.

Long-Term-Care Insurance

A long-term-care insurance policy may enable you to transfer a portion of the economic liability of long-term care to an insurance company in exchange for the regular premiums.

Long-term-care insurance may be used to help pay for skilled care, intermediate care, and custodial care. Most policies pay for nursing-home care, and comprehensive policies may also cover home care services and assisted living. Insurance can help protect your family financially from the potentially devastating cost of a long-term disabling medical condition, chronic illness, or cognitive impairment.

A complete statement of coverage, including exclusions, exceptions, and limitations is found only in the policy.

Long-Term-Care Riders on Life Insurance

A number of insurance companies have added long-term-care riders to their life insurance contracts. For an additional fee, these riders will provide a benefit — usually a percentage of the face value — to help cover the cost of long-term care. This may be an option for you.

The information in this article is not intended to be tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor.

This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2010 Emerald

HMO or PPO? Choosing your health insurance provider is an important decision.

Selecting health insurance is often one of the most important decisions you will make. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are types of managed health-care plans and can cost much less than comprehensive individual policies.

What is “managed care”?

Through the use of managed care, HMOs and PPOs are able to reduce the costs of hospitals and physicians. Managed care is a set of incentives and disincentives for physicians to limit what the HMOs and PPOs consider unnecessary tests and procedures. Managed care generally requires the consent of a primary-care physician before a patient can see a specialist.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) explained

An HMO provides comprehensive health-care services to the insured for a fixed periodic payment. There may also be a nominal fee paid for each visit to a health-care provider. Unlike traditional insurance, HMOs actually provide the health care rather than just making payments to health-care providers. HMOs can have a variety of relationships with hospitals and physicians. Plan physicians may be salaried employees, members of an independent multi-specialty group, part of a network of independent multi-specialty groups, or part of an individual practice association.

Because HMOs integrate health-care providers with insurance, they are able to provide improved health-care delivery. This unique relationship often allows HMOs to maintain a lower cost of service from plan providers. Because the HMO is both a provider and an insurer, this allows for lower administrative costs and paperwork for the patient.

HMOs also try to reduce costs by providing preventive care. Because visits to primary-care physicians are inexpensive for patients, the chance of early detection and care increases.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) explained

PPOs have also contracted with hospitals and physicians to provide health-care services. Unlike the case with an HMO, you do not have to go to these physicians. However, you will pay more if you go outside the list of preferred providers.

PPO plans usually have a deductible, which is the amount that the insured must pay before the PPO begins to pay. When the PPO plan does start to pay, it will usually pay a percentage of the bill and you have to pay the remainder, which is called “coinsurance.”

Most PPO plans have an out-of-pocket maximum. This helps protect you from paying more than a certain amount per year. After you exceed the out-of-pocket maximum, the coinsurance percentage paid by the PPO increases to 100%.

The out-of-pocket maximum, deductible, and coinsurance will each affect the cost of the PPO insurance coverage. You can help lower your premiums by having as high a deductible as you can afford to pay.

This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2010 Emerald