Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Ryan Quante, Founder of Care Income Advisors Discussing Dementia Care

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

Ryan is a Certified Long Term-Care Insurance specialist and has helped clients, agents, & attorneys find viable solutions to their LTC needs. For the past 8 years, I’ve made it my mission to help as many people avoid spending down all their assets to pay for care as I can through creative planning strategies. Ryan resides in St. Charles, Missouri, and enjoys hockey, music, and his two dogs.Learn More: https://www.careincomeadvisors.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-ryan-quante-founder-of-care-income-advisors-discussing-dementia-care

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us, Ryan Quante, who's the founder of Care Income Advisors, and we'll be talking about dementia care. Ryan, welcome to the program. Hey, thanks a lot, Mike. Thanks for having me.

You are welcome. I want to dive into this because I know this is such a broad topic that is very, very needed. But before we get started, tell us a little bit of your story and your background and how you got into the industry. Yeah, absolutely, Mike. Thank you. So my journey began about eight years ago. My father has been in the long-term care planning space for over 40 years, and I'm following in his footsteps. We have kind of a personal story.

with my grandfather, his grandmother, my grandmother on my other side of the family. So dementia is something that is really close to home. And I've kind of set out to make it my personal mission to help as many families as I can prepare for the possibility of, you know, an extended dementia stay and how to effectively plan for that in retirement. Did you notice or hear, you know, because that's a couple generations back. did you notice or hear that some of the decisions that were made were not the best ones or that they didn't plan properly and they kind of created some stress and then that kind of is what led you into, hey, if we felt this in our family, let's see if we can prevent it for other people. That's exactly right. My great grandmother actually spent down all of her assets over the course of seven years and died broke in a Medicaid bed, which is obviously not the way that people want to spend their last days. So in addition, you know, my grandfather, he also suffered with it.

My grandmother also suffered with it. So it is near dear to my heart. And that is, I think, you know, huge in terms of why I've decided to go down the path of helping folks plan for this. Yeah, you know, I think it's really neat when you can have a personal connection because then that brings in the empathy factor. I think that when you're meeting with your clients and explaining options, they can just feel that kind of just underlying empathy. It reminds me of like when you're, you watch the voice or American Idol and you hear the judges say, I could just feel the emotion in that song. You just brought it out.

You didn't just sing the words. Well, there's one thing to say, you need to deal with this. Here's some options. What do you choose? Well, that's cold. Well, when you can bring in your empathy and experience and help prevent this, that becomes just a whole caring environment. Absolutely.

And that's what I want to want to focus on is just purely education, letting full. know that they do have options available to plan ahead and and make sure that they're in a position to not be a burden on their children, burden on their family, and all the while maintaining, you know, peace of mind and hopefully retaining some assets to leave to their children. Legacy, yeah, not just drain it all. So I think that a lot of people, me included, would hear the phrase long-term care. And you've heard of that before. And I know I can buy this policy of that policy. and I know about maybe what it means, not all the breadth. But I think that there's an extra aspect that you're bringing out here that is really important.

So can you explain how important it is to consider dementia care when planning for long-term care? Absolutely. As you've probably heard and read in the news recently, the likelihood of needing some sort of specialized care, especially for dementia increases as we age. So having some sort of plan in place is detrimental. and becomes a lifeline because without it, you don't have any real financial security or any real peace of mind. So for folks who are facing, you know, and I have questions about dementia, we were able to really

to kind of clear those up and provide a path forward. Because I think that the true definition of long-term care is when you need some type of help for a certain number of time. And it might not be, you know, extensive long-term years and years and years. It might just be a period of months. But when dementia is added into that, now that amplifies long-term care need, right? Absolutely, Mike, yes. So dementia, as we know, is a progressive condition.

It can last, you know, as long as anywhere from a couple months to all the way to 20 years. And the impact, as you would imagine, for those longer claims is very significant for the individual as well as their family. And this is where I see long-term care becoming a crucial aspect of any retirement plan. It ensures that they're able to get the care that they need, whether or not they have dementia for one year, two years, 10 years, or 30 years. Let's hope it's not 30 years, right? Yeah. Yeah, so, and, you know, without the proper planning and the help of an expert, it's almost next to impossible to decipher because there are so many options out there. And you have to really be sure that, you know, what you're looking at is appropriate for dementia, right?

So a lot of people think of long-term care insurance as only nursing home. That's not the case anymore. We're able to provide care at the home at an assisted living facility because, let's be honest, who really wants to go to a nursing home or spend the rest of the end of their life in a nursing home. And these days, those types of opportunities even give funds for the family to take care of people in the home. because like you said, whether it's a nursing home, retirement, you know, long-term care

facility, what about, just give me some money and let me take care of my family member in our home. So that's neat to see that those kind of options are available too. Yes, and those options have not always been available. So it is a huge, huge point for folks that look, hey, you don't have to pay some outside person. If you're at home dealing with your spouse or if you're a child dealing with your mother or father, There are plans available that will allow you to actually receive the money so that you can maintain your lifestyle and whatnot and not be negatively affected about with the condition that you're dealing with. Yeah. You know, can you think of some examples where long-term care planning has really tied into two aspects? Number one, yeah, financially, we can go into detail there because it's not cheap.

but you've mentioned emotionally before a minute ago. And I think that's such a big piece too. But what are some examples you've seen with clients you've worked with where dealing with long-term care had financial and emotional impact? And I think that, you know, being able to be cared for in your own home would be a big boost emotionally. But what are some other aspects? Yeah, absolutely.

So my team and I actually just recently finished up a case where a client called Joe for the purpose of this discussion. He had done a really good job planning. And he actually purchased the policy back in early 2000s. He's 75 years old today. So he did a good job. He was able to secure a monthly benefit in the neighborhood $12,000 a month, which is a very healthy benefit. And it actually is a lifetime benefit, meaning that $12,000 will be there as long as he lives.

In other words, that's $144,000 a year in coverage, whereas if he didn't have anything, well, he'd be draining that out of his assets. And that's never, you know, an ideal plan, especially if you're planning on leaving a legacy. And in this case, with Joe, he had a daughter that would like to, you know, obviously he would like to leave the money to. So, and although, you know, although he did a good job planning, his condition unfortunately progressively got worse.

And his care needs have increased from, you know, 12,000. at the long-term care policy was paying to over $24,000 a month. Wow. And that is strictly because he wants to stay at home. He does not want to go to any sort of nursing home. And he prefers to be at his daughter's house. And so now Joe kind of had a problem. If he were to continue spending the additional $12,000 a month,

his assets would have lasted him about five years or so, even taking any consideration those benefits he currently has from his policy. But in order to stop the bleeding, we were actually able to put a plan in place on a guaranteed basis so that Joe is able to continue living at home, will receive an additional $12,000 a month, making him whole at the $24,000 care level that he needs, which, as you would imagine, provides a great peace of mind knowing that his daughter will never have to worry about him running out of money. and also she will be receiving some sort of inheritance, regardless of how long he lives with the inches.

So as you can imagine, Mike, this strategy itself has the ability to truly, truly help folks. And even if they've already been told it's too late. So that's been a really good success story recently that comes to home. Yeah. Because that additional $12,000 per month need over and above the 12, you're going to run out money in five years.

And that probably meant, not much to leave for the daughter as a legacy, but now we flip the table. And now not only does he feel good and, again, emotionally as a huge boost, feel good that he's at his house and that he now can leave a legacy for his family. Boy, that's meeting both of those financial and emotional needs, whereas otherwise he's feeling like he's less of a man that he didn't plan the right way. When in reality, he really did to have $12,000 per month. So I think that's a huge, huge factor that people need to keep in mind.

Absolutely. And it's never too late. And that's what I really try to stress for folks. Even if they're already sick, we can a lot of times provide great leverage, which is not always been the case. Yeah, that might be an interesting kind of trigger where it's like, if you've been told it's too late, think again, maybe see what can be done option-wise. because I think that is a big misconception about long-term care is, well, you have to have it this much ahead of the need or it's too late. So you're saying that you've got some great options that way. What are some other misconceptions about dementia and long-term care that people have?

Because I know it's a kind of an area where people aren't really read up on. Absolutely. I'd say the most common misconception I hear from my clients is that their health insurance or their Medicare. will cover the extensive needs of the dementia stay or any long-term care stay for that matter. And it's really crucial to understand that long-term care insurance is actually designed for the purpose of extending the care beyond what Medicare pays for. So a lot of people think Medicare will pay the bill forever. That is not the case.

Medicare is only going to pay for a certain amount of long-term care services and it will never, never, ever pay more than 100 days. And that's a problem because if, you know, say God forbid you, you get some sort of dementia and there's 70 different types. And your disease lasts, you know, more than a couple years. Well, you might be going through a lot of assets in a short amount of time. So as a matter of fact, one of the companies that we deal with and represent actually published a little piece of data on their lengthiest claim and it was over 20 years. So if that client wouldn't have bought the policy that they did, money would have ran up long before that dementia ultimately proved fagal. So the other thing I think I kind of touched on was that earlier is that long-term care benefits

must be used in a nursing home. That is not the case. So that's another common misconception I hear from folks. I don't want to go to a nursing home. Of course, nobody does. But it's important to know that we have solutions available that allow you to maintain your piece of mind at home and receive quality care at the same time. Yeah, that's huge. That really is. And did you say there are 70 types of dementia, 70?

70. Yes. Most people don't understand that. I think it's Alzheimer's or dementia. Well, within that, there's a myriad of different types of dementia. Parkinson's disease is actually a form of dementia that most people don't realize. Right. So with how broad dementia can be, And I'm sure that each one of those 70 variations of them will progress different speed. You know, so it's very variable. You can't just cookie cutter and say, you have dementia. Here's what's going to happen.

It's different for everybody. How does the long-term care planning be, how is that affected with requirements over time? Because you mentioned 100 days with Medicare. Are there other aspects that need to be taken into consideration where, oh, you've got this type of dementia? and in this time frame, it now has progressed or it's changed or it's gotten worse or it's, you know, different than when you started. Exactly. As time goes on, I see a lot of clients who find themselves in great distress due to the ever-changing ongoing nature of a potential dementia case. And not only that, but the effect it has on family finances and the emotions of the loved ones surrounding them. So luckily, there are some strategies available that allow people with cops.

cognitive issues, mobility issues, too. And regardless of how the disease progresses, they're able to have peace of mind that they know that they're covered, regardless of how bad or worse the condition may get. There are certain features like inflation protection that we can attach to certain policies that will keep pace with the rising cause of senior care, as well as the potential for a greater need in the future. That's interesting because you would think that. you pay this premium and you get this benefit, but to have a built-in feature of some inflation protection, because as we know, inflation rears its ugly head from time to time over the decade. So that's an interesting feature that I wouldn't have thought would have been available.

Yes, absolutely. And there's also another feature I kind of want to touch on that people often overlook and planning for long-term care, which is care coordination services. So what those do is they involve professionals that work with families to create and kind of adjust the plan as the disease progresses so that they ensure that whatever care is being provided kind of aligns with where the disease is at currently. So lots of things to consider when we're talking about, you know, the variability and the progression of it. But the policies themselves these days do a very good job of encompassing all of that. So what other kind of policy features cater to dementia care? And are there standalone policies for dementia care or is it a type of long-term care?

Or are there other kinds of policies to consider, you know, like insurance policies that would incorporate that? So I know there's many options, but what's kind of a 30,000-foot overview that way? Yes. Yeah, great question. So I will be honest, most of the plans today will cover any sort of cognitive impairment. That includes dementia, Alzheimer's, anything like that. So that's huge for folks because they need the peace of mind, right? So another feature would be that we are able to provide lifetime benefits with a few different companies. As I mentioned in Joe's case earlier, he did a good job planning.

He had lifetime benefits. It just so happened to be that his disease progressed to the point where he needed more. So that is an important factor to consider maybe if you're parents, have had dementia or your loved ones have had dementia, you might want to look at something that offers a lifetime benefit. Yeah, of course, because you don't want to be watching the clock for an expiration. Exactly, right? You know, a lot of the plans out there will run out three or four or five years, and while,

you know, that may be good for the average person if you are diagnosed with dementia. And God forbid, you spend five or ten or fifteen years. a lifetime benefit can certainly help protect you in that scenario. I think that's an interesting thought, lifetime benefit, which ties back to self-esteem. It kind of reminds me of like the statistic when someone retires statistically, they start declining really quickly if all they do is sit around and do nothing. So get out there and volunteer or start a business or do something. Same with, you know, if you have a long-term care policy that has a time, you know, expiration time, aren't you kind of watching that and it kind of is getting closer you're just not feeling good about

that. And so I think that it ties to self-esteem to be able to go and comfort to be able to know, hey, there's no expiration. It's a lifetime benefit. And that really puts your mind at ease. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. The lifetime benefit has been a blessing, I think, for a lot of people who realize the value of it and have had a personal experience and realize that they may end up, you know, spending a long time with the disease, unfortunately. Yeah. So I know that with 70 different types of dimension, then now it's gaining prominence in people realizing that it is, you know, so, you know, like they might have thought,

oh, it's just this, but it's actually dementia. And it's, you know, becoming more and more prevalent. What is someone listening to this? What are they to think? You know, what advice would you give them in factoring that into? their long-term care insurance options? Great question. I'd say the earlier somebody can plan, obviously, the better is the cost will increase

as you age. We all know that. And regardless of the age, though, we do have solutions all the way up to age 95. And, you know, even with folks who already have a dementia diagnosis, there are options available. It's also, you know, obviously extremely important to compare and research multiple policies. There's, you know, like I mentioned earlier, there's many, many, many different policies out there that have different, you know, features, benefits and whatnot. It almost becomes impossible to decipher without the help and expert or a specialist, as I like to say.

You know, it's a specialist is somebody who's, you know, obviously specializes in long-term care planning. You know, you wouldn't, you know, Mike, you wouldn't go to your primary care doctor with a broken foot. you probably would be best served by your orthopedic doctor. So the same is true when it comes to planning for long-term care. A lot of financial advisors are quite frankly, unfortunately, too busy trying to be all things to all people and juggling too many different balls. But by working with my team at care income advisors, you can sleep like a baby knowing that your loved one will never run out of money for care.

And we will be very thorough in terms of, you know, policy exploration. and seeing what makes sense for the person. 100%. And it's kind of like if your homeowner's insurance agent that has your homeowner's insurance and your car insurance starts mentioning this, that might not be the best option, get with the specialist, and certainly don't go Googling around because that'll just add to the confusion.

So I think that's a great point there, Brian. Absolutely. Yep, I would agree. Well, if someone is interested in learning more and seeing what their options are, what's the best way they can reach? out and connect with you. Absolutely. There's a couple options.

You can go to my website, which is www. care income advisors.com, or you can simply schedule a meeting by going to www. meetwithriyancue.com. That's www. meetwithriynecue.com.

And I'd be honored to listen to your story and help serve you in the best way that I possibly can. Excellent. Well, Ryan, thank you so much for coming on. It has been a pleasure talking with you today.

Yeah, thanks again, Mike. I appreciate it, and hopefully we can help a lot of families through this interview today. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www. www.influentialentrepreneursradio.com.