Rates Said to Be Lower-But by How Much?

In its announcement of the award, OPM said that premium rates “will be below those generally available in the private market,” in part due to the size of the potential enrollee pool–some 20 million people in the federal and military communities. Up to this point, officials had been predicting that the rates will be as far as 15-20 percent below private market rates. However, insurance experts have been skeptical about that claim, saying that various discounts are available under some outside LTC programs might make costs about comparable to what the federal program will charge. In any case, the full cost of the premium will be borne by the enrollee–unlike in the federal life and health insurance programs, there will be no employer share-and will be set according to the individual’s age at purchase and the options selected.