Life Care Funding
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services, Senior care consultancy |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Chris Orestis |
| Headquarters | Portland, Maine , United States |
Key people | Chris Orestis (CEO) |
| Products | Life settlements, Long-term care financing solutions |
LCX LIFE, formerly known as Life Care Funding, is a financial advisory and senior care consultancy based in the United States that specializes in utilizing life settlements to finance long-term care. Established in 2007 by CEO Chris Orestis, the firm assists elderly clients in transforming their life insurance policies into funding mechanisms for extended care, thereby tackling affordability issues within senior living. Life Care Funding has also played a role in shaping legislation aimed at enhancing long-term care financing accessibility for middle-income Americans.
History
Life Care Funding was created in 2007 by Chris Orestis, who previously worked as a life insurance lobbyist and advocate for senior care. The company’s primary focus is on converting life insurance policies into capital for long-term care through life settlements. It was among the first to introduce life settlements as a tax-advantaged method to fund long-term care via Long-Term Care Health Savings Accounts (LTC-HSAs). This strategy, termed the “Long-Term Care Benefit Plan,” has gained widespread acceptance among senior care providers throughout the United States. The plan operates by settling life insurance policies and depositing the proceeds into FDIC-insured accounts that disburse monthly, tax-exempt payments directly to care providers. Headquartered in Portland, Maine, Life Care Funding also maintains affiliated offices across the country.
Legislative advocacy
Individuals holding life insurance policies are generally disqualified from Medicaid eligibility. To address this gap, Orestis developed a framework allowing middle-class seniors to finance long-term care when they neither qualify for Medicaid nor can afford out-of-pocket expenses. He presented these concepts along with proposed legislative reforms to the federal Commission on Long-Term Care.
Life Care Funding partnered with organizations such as the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), Florida Medicaid, state healthcare associations, AARP, and stakeholders within the insurance and life settlement sectors to establish private pay funding models that qualify as Medicaid spend-down. Orestis has provided testimony before NCOIL, various state legislatures, and commissions in states including Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Maine, contributing to reports submitted to the Congressional Commission on Long-Term Care.
By 2013, eight states had introduced legislation supporting Medicaid Life Settlements that facilitate private pay conversions of life insurance policies into long-term care benefit plans; this number grew to thirteen states introducing such bills by 2015, with two states enacting them into law. Regulatory authorities are progressing toward a model disclosure statute requiring policyholders be informed of their option to convert life insurance death benefits into funds for long-term care expenses. These legislative efforts aim to reduce Medicaid expenditures while broadening seniors’ access to necessary care.