Retirement Policy

Leaders of the Senate Special Committee on Aging are advocating passage of legislation (S-1177) to strengthen consumer protections over long-term care insurance, an issue that gained new attention after the announcement of premium increases in the FLTCIP program for federal employees and retirees.

The measure would: direct HHS to conduct biennial reviews of national and state-specific markets for LTC policies; seek model language for marketing of long-term insurance policies that meets certain criteria and develop recommendations for enforcement; and authorize establishment of an Internet directory of information regarding LTC insurance that would include comparison tools to assist consumers in evaluating LTC insurance policies with different benefits and features.

 

The measure also would make several changes in Medicaid, which provides LTC benefits under certain circumstances, and seeks a report from HHS on whether all LTC insurance policies sold after a certain date determined by the Secretary should provide annual compound inflation protection.