Boston Globe Contributor and Patient Rights Advocate, Ben Lipson, Authors J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance.

Business Editors / Health & Medical Writers

BOSTON--(BW HealthWire)--March 13, 2002

"An indispensable book for all those concerned that the cost of

health care will rob their old age of dignity and independence."

Bernard Lown, MD, Winner, Nobel Peace Prize 

Ben Lipson, a 20-year columnist and contributor to The Boston Globe, announced his newest book, J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance (Wiley: March 28, 2002; $16.95; Paper).

This book is targeted to the 73 million Americans age 50 and above, most of whom are concerned about disabilities in their later years and determined to preserve their hard-earned nest eggs. It is also necessary reading for the 26 million Americans who have become informal care givers, often interrupting their family lives and careers.

Initial reactions to Ben Lipson's new book are outstanding. "An indispensable book for all those concerned that the cost of health care will rob their old age of dignity and independence," wrote Bernard Lown, MD, Winner, Nobel Peace Prize. "The author, Ben Lipson, an articulate advocate of patient rights and an authority on health insurance, provides a lucid road map in a terrain mined with hokum."

"Next to buying the right long-term care insurance, buying and reading J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance by Ben Lipson is the best investment seniors and their families can make to help insure independence and dignity in their golden years," wrote Scott Harshbarger, President and CEO of Common Cause, one of the nation's foremost consumer advocacy groups.

All of the author's proceeds from this book will go to the Marjorie E. Lipson Memorial Fund within the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. The Fund promotes patient advocacy and patients' rights within healthcare and insurance bureaucracies and is named for Ben Lipson's daughter, who died at age 35 after a 20-year battle with anorexia and bulimia.

This is the first no-holds-barred book about long-term care insurance, which is written by a 50-year insurance veteran. It clearly and simply explains complicated, emotional subjects, including:

- Helping to ensure dignity and independence for all seniors and their families


- Determining who needs coverage and whether or not to buy it

- Simple ways that seniors and their adult children can identify the best
coverage

- Alternatives to long-term care insurance

- 36 questions most insurance companies hope you never ask

- 31 do's and don'ts when considering long-term care insurance

- 20 ways to deflect 20 different kinds of sales pitches laced with emotional
blackmail

- A medical selection guide to help determine acceptance or rejection of
coverage

- Tips to overcome insurer concerns for various medical problems.

Mr. Lipson has a special CAUTION for men and women who are contemplating remarriage. "Before entering a second marriage, determine whether or not your intended spouse can qualify for long-term care insurance," he said. "Otherwise you risk becoming a care giver, eroding your assets, harming your relationship with the children of your first marriage, and putting your health in jeopardy."

J.K. Lasser's Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance by Ben Lipson includes dozens of short case studies that depict real-life situations and illustrate the importance of these subjects. At this early date, it's already the number two long-term care insurance book at Amazon.com. For media requests of this book, real life examples and interviews with Ben Lipson, please contact: Laure Kesner, Peter Arnold Associates, Wellesley, MA, [e-mail] 781/239-1030.