A blog at the apex of the long-term care insurance industry
Genworth and China Oceanwide Holdings Group recently announced that they have not extended a December 31, 2020 “end date” to finalize a proposed merger agreement. Genworth also held an investors call on January 5, 2021 that addressed, in part, the status of the China Oceanwide Holdings Group merger. While the merger agreement remains in effect, Genworth is shifting its focus toward a contingency plan.
Continue reading “Genworth and China Oceanwide Transaction Update”
Industry stalwarts Karen Smyth (Vice President of Long Term Care Operations at Wilton Re) and Jeff Ferrand (Vice President of Fraud Services at LTCG) have significant experience developing and implementing anti-fraud, waste, and abuse programs at the carrier and TPA level.
Please listen to the below podcast with Chris Petillo and Jessica Loesing as they discuss Karen’s and Jeff’s views on, among other questions, how fraud, waste, and abuse manifest in the LTCi space, and potential efforts carriers and TPAs can use to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse. Karen also shares her experience as a witness in a criminal trial involving LTCi insurance fraud and Jeff shares his past experience as outside counsel prosecuting insurance fraud cases. Finally, stick around to hear some of the creative and industrious ways Karen and Jeff have been passing the time with their families (at home) during the pandemic.
The NAIC Innovation and Technology (EX) Task Force met on November 4 to discuss proposed changes to the anti-rebating language in the NAIC’s Model Unfair Trade Practices Act (MDL-880). Drafting leaders used the meeting as an opportunity to address comments received in response to the August 10 draft, including comments from the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). The final comment period is open now through Wednesday, November 18, after which a final version of the amendment will be made available. The Task Force hopes to vote to adopt the final draft at the December 4 meeting.
Assured Allies and Faegre Drinker have partnered to develop a playbook for the long-term care insurance industry. Responding and Managing the Impact of COVID-19 offers insights, guidance and ideas to manage the short- and medium-term impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic and provides potential avenues for long-term care insurers to explore in the post-COVID-19 world that could change long-term care insurance forever.
As issues surrounding the cost of long-term care for Americans becomes the focus of the industry, premium rate increases have historically been necessary to maintain the financial integrity of most blocks of stand-alone long-term care insurance (LTCI) business. In conjunction with those rate increases, insurers have offered (and regulators have approved) an evolving menu of rate increase mitigation options for policyholders who do not wish to or otherwise cannot afford to pay the increased rate. Recently, we have seen new and innovative alternatives proposed by industry participants. There is a growing recognition that insureds should be educated about the nature of their existing coverage and presented with a variety of options in the alternative to paying the approved rate increase amount. In the past few months alone, insurers are offering, and regulators are approving (and sometimes even requesting), an even wider variety of options, such as modifying existing coverage, reducing available benefit, or taking a reduced paid-up policy, policy buyouts and even “hybrid” policy buyouts.
Continue reading “LTC Rate Increases: Exploring Alternatives”
Many long-term-care (LTC) insurance policies in the market are “Tax-Qualified,” or “TQ,” meaning that they meet the federal standards for favorable tax treatment specified by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (or were grandfathered in to that definition). This is an attractive option for most insureds because under TQ policies, certain LTC insurance benefits qualify for favorable federal income tax treatment — if the policy pays only benefits that reimburse the insured for qualified LTC costs, the insured will not owe federal income tax on those benefits. Likewise, premiums are tax-deductible up to a maximum limit that increases with age. These benefits are not provided by policies that are “Non-Tax-Qualified,” or “NTQ.”
Continue reading “Tax-Qualified Language: Litigation Risks Stemming from Common Policy Language”