Aging at Home is More Than Just a Passing Fad

An astounding 88% of Americans would prefer to receive any ongoing living assistance they need as they age at home or with loved ones, according to a new nationwide survey released this week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Furthermore, 69% of participants reported they have done only a little or no planning for their long-term care needs, and 49% of participants over the age of 40 reported that they expect the majority of their long-term care costs will be paid by Medicare. Considering Medicare currently covers very limited long-term care costs, and the Medicare trust fund is at risk to become insolvent in the near future, 89% of participants reported that strengthening the Medicare trust fund should be a priority for the Biden administration and Congress.

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Liability Insurance Rates and Reduced Capacity Add Pressure to the Cost of Long-Term Care Services

The cost of long-term care services continued to rise during the pandemic, and many care providers expect their clients’ costs to increase significantly in 2021.1  A new Willis Towers Watson Insurance Marketplace Realities 2021 Spring Update (“Spring Update”) concludes that 2021 will continue to squeeze long-term and senior care providers from both sides—with general and professional liability insurance rates predicted to increase by 30% or more, and a persistence of 2020’s overall reduced liability capacities in the market for the long-term care provider sector.

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Colorado Bill Restricting Insurers’ Use of External Data and Algorithms Passes First Hurdle

Recently, long-term care insurers have focused a substantial investment of resources in evaluating and assessing the feasibility of wellness programs aimed at keeping policyholders healthier and at home as they age. This goal meets the stated desires of almost all policyholders, and also delays and/or lessens the severity of any long term care insurance claims that policyholders might be eligible for. Many of these wellness programs utilize predictive analytics of various types, including algorithmic data analysis, predictive models and artificial intelligence. Regulators and lawmakers have been focused on these types of Insurtech offerings, and have been particularly attentive to potential discrimination issues that might arise.

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LTC Task Force Updates From NAIC Spring Meeting

During the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Spring Conference last week, the NAIC LTC Task Force met to discuss various topics and we wanted to share a summary of the discussion:

The bulk of the meeting was the Task Force receiving an update from each of its subgroups:

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2021 ILTCI Conference

Faegre Drinker is a proud sponsor of the upcoming Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance Conference Association (ILTCI) virtual event. The conference, the largest multidisciplinary long-term care conference in the U.S., kicks off Tuesday, April 13 with a general session followed by sessions every Tuesday and Thursday through April 29.

Several of our insurance professionals, along with many other LTCi community insiders, will be speaking this year on topics ranging from litigation, to aging in place, to rate increase innovations.  Here is a brief look at the panels we will be joining:

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COVID-19 Impact on Long-Term Care Insurance 2020 Survey

What impact did COVID-19 have on the long-term care industry (LTCi) early on? The Society of Actuaries (SOA) recently released a survey trying to answer that question by detailing COVID-19’s impact on LTCi mortality, voluntary lapse and morbidity experience. General findings from the survey were stated as follows:

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Proposed Revisions to HIPAA Privacy Rule and Extension for Public Comment

On March 9, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was extending public comment on the proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule from March 22, 2021 to May 6, 2021.

OCR first released the proposed modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule on December 10, 2020. Specifically, OCR announced it was proposing changes “to support individuals’” engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinate care and reduce the regulatory burdens on the health care industry.”

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