FLTCIP Underwriting Issues Clarified

The Office of Personnel Management has clarified several aspects of the policy on underwriting-the process of checking a person’s health history and current condition-in the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, saying that individuals eligible for the coverage in more than one category can choose the status from which to apply. That could make a difference between getting coverage and not getting it for some individuals, since active employees and their spouses are subject only to “abbreviated” underwriting, while retirees and all other eligible persons are subject to “full” underwriting, which involves a higher level of scrutiny. For example, a retiree who is also the spouse of a current employee could apply as a spouse and undergo the lesser form of underwriting. Similarly, a retiree who is reemployed in a federal job that conveys eligibility for FLTCIP (as most do) could apply as an active employee, not as a retiree. OPM also noted that an individual who is both an active employee and the spouse of an active employee need not answer the two additional questions in the abbreviated underwriting that applies to spouses.