Editorial Board, Author at LTCi Summit

Court Reinforces the Filed-rate Doctrine in Collins et al v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co.

On February 3, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted MetLife’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in Collins et al v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. In granting MetLife’s motion to dismiss, the Court reinforced both the filed-rate doctrine and the requirement for plaintiffs to exhaust administrative remedies before turning to the judicial process.

The Plaintiffs in this case, who were citizens of Missouri and Illinois, brought suit against MetLife for recovery of premiums paid for inflation protection under long-term care insurance policies. Plaintiffs had purchased a “5% Automatic Compound Inflation Protection Rider” (Inflation Rider), which contained a clause stating that the insured’s benefit will “automatically increase each year with no corresponding increase in premiums.” Plaintiffs claimed that after purchasing this product, their annual base premiums doubled in amount, and thus alleged that MetLife made fraudulent misrepresentations and concealed material facts about the effect of the inflation Rider on their premiums.

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HIPAA Regulation of Online Tracking Technologies

In a December 2022 bulletin published by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS made clear that the use of third-party tracking technologies by covered entities and business associates is subject to HIPAA privacy and security rules. The use of tracking technologies developed by third-party vendors is increasingly common, and much of the LTCi industry is subject to HIPAA privacy and security rules as either covered entities or business associates. HHS noted in the bulletin that covered entities and business associates “are not permitted to use tracking technologies in a manner that would result in impermissible disclosures of [protected health information (“PHI”)] to tracking technology vendors or any other violations of the HIPAA Rules.” And, as applied to the use of tracking technologies, HHS’s view of what constitutes PHI may be broader than expected.

What Are Tracking Technologies?

Tracking technologies (including cookies, pixels, and other similar technologies) collect information about individuals who interact with an entity’s website or mobile application (“mobile app”). Businesses use a variety of tracking technologies on websites and mobile apps to improve functionality and learn more about users’ activities. Tracking technologies developed by third parties generally involve the sharing of data back to that third party, so when a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate uses these tracking technologies, they must be cognizant of what data is being shared, to who, and for what purpose.

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Faegre Drinker Long-Term Care Summit V Recap

Faegre Drinker held its fifth Long-Term Care Insurance Summit in Chicago this fall. The event kicked off on October 18 with an informal, fun, and engaging social get-together, while the overall format for the interactive meeting was selective, informative, and fast-moving. Carrol Golden, Executive Director of the Specialty Centers at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), shares a recap of the event.

The first day, Faegre Drinker Partner Steve Serfass shared welcome remarks and introduced Peter Lucas, CEO of Davies, and John Sieb, Business Head and COO – Long Term Care at Prudential and invited them to share their views about the most significant issues and opportunities facing the LTCi community today. Peter urged that while embracing new concepts and insights, the industry should not lose focus on the basics of good policy and claim administration, and he also addressed the importance of creating attractive career paths and opportunities for young and mid-level professionals while mentoring them to become the next generation of leaders. As he discussed the importance of proactive block management, John stressed three strategic pillars: data and analytics, digital TP and claims management.

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Election Night for Insurance Geeks: November 2022

Election outcomes affect every industry. Insurance, however, is unique in the range of elected policymakers who can impact it directly — insurance commissioners, governors and Congress (not to mention state legislatures and other statewide officials). So as insurance stakeholders settle in the night of November 8 with popcorn and other traditional fare, what are our “ones to watch?”

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Artificial Intelligence Briefing: FTC to Address Commercial Surveillance and Data Security

From time to time, colleagues in our larger Insurance practice, along with other non-insurance-related practices, write on issues that we feel are important enough to highlight on this blog. Emerging attention to Artificial Intelligence (AI) by lawmakers and regulators alike is one such issue. Among the topics highlighted in Faegre Drinker’s latest Artificial Intelligence Briefing is the Collaboration Forum on Algorithmic Bias held during NAIC’s Summer Annual meeting that featured various presentations, including one from our own Scott Kosnoff on how companies can mitigate their regulatory, litigation and reputation risk through AI risk management and governance.

ThinkAdvisor Catches Up With New York Life’s Jeff Beligotti

ThinkAdvisor recently talked to New York Life’s Jeff Beligotti, Vice President and Head of Long-Term Care Solutions, about his views on the state of long-term care insurance and the long-term care sector generally.

In the interview, Jeff notes that “this is an exciting time to be in the long-term care space,” and offers perspectives on how financial professionals can support long-term care planning as well as how standalone LTCi can complement emerging federal and state-level LTCi programs.

Read the full ThinkAdvisor article.

2022 ILTCI Conference

Faegre Drinker is proud to sponsor The Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance Conference to be held March 20-23 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The conference is the largest multidisciplinary long-term care conference in the U.S. and will include dozens of educational sessions featuring industry thought leaders and LTCI community insiders.

Here is a brief look at the panels that will include members of our Team, with topics ranging from litigation, to aging in place, to rate increase innovations:

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AALTCI Launching Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Resource Center

According to a recent survey from The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), the nation’s long-term care insurance companies paid out more than $12 billion in claims benefits in 2021. That represents a $700 million increase over 2020, and a $2 billion increase since 2018.

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