Continue reading “Election Night for Insurance Geeks: November 2022”
Category: Regulatory/Compliance
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.
Highlights from the LTCi EX Task Force Meeting at NAIC
We want to bring you some highlights from the in-person LTCi EX Task Force meeting we attended August 12 during NAIC’s Summer National Meeting in Portland. The Commissioners principally discussed the next steps in the rollout of the Multistate Actuarial (MSA) Framework and the results of a survey of financial advisors to help the Task Force understand how policyholders are considering rate increase communications and the accompanying reduced benefit options that the rate increase communications include.
Continue reading “Highlights from the LTCi EX Task Force Meeting at NAIC”
Senate Finance Committee Advances EARN Act in Effort to Expand Retirement
On Wednesday, June 22, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, including an amendment containing retiring Sen. Pat Toomey’s Long-Term Care Affordability Act. The Amendment would allow people to use up to $2,000 per year in 401(k) assets to pay for their LTCi premiums. The Amendment aims to promote a more viable LTCi marketplace by increasing participation, as the use of 401(k) funds would expand the asset pool available to pay premiums. The bill would apply to “eligible retirement plans,” defined as a qualified retirement plan that is a defined contribution plan, a section 403(a) annuity plan, a section 403(b) plan, a governmental section 457(b) plan, or an IRA. The qualifying coverage may be for the individual or the individual’s spouse or dependent. Distributions for the purpose of LTCi premiums would be exempt from the additional 10% tax on the amount of the distribution.
Continue reading “Senate Finance Committee Advances EARN Act in Effort to Expand Retirement”
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:
Louisiana Secures Temporary Injunction in Connection with the SHIP Rehabilitation Plan
Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (“SHIP”) was placed in rehabilitation in Pennsylvania in January 2020. On August 24, 2021, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania approved the Rehabilitation Plan (the “Plan”), which includes a nationwide premium increase and several benefit modification options that will be presented to policyholders to avoid or mitigate the rate increase. The Plan includes an opt-out for state regulators who elect to review the proposed rate increase, but if an opt-out state does not approve the full rate increase the options available to policyholders of policies issued in that state would not include an option for the policyholder to retain the full benefit amounts set forth in their policy. Because of the novel strategy to pursue a rate increase/benefit modification through the rehabilitation court, the Plan has proven to be controversial. For example, the chief insurance regulators in Massachusetts, Maine and Washington have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to challenge and block the Plan (and a group of 27 other state insurance regulators filed an amicus brief in support of this challenge). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently denied an application for a stay of the approval of the Plan while the appeal is pending.
NAIC LTCi Task Force Adopts MSA Framework, Wellness Document and Policyholder Communication Checklist
At its recent Fall 2021 National Meeting, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force adopted the following items:
- the revised LTCI Multistate Rate Review Framework (MSA Framework);
- the LTC Wellness Benefits Document (See Attachment Six of the Meeting Materials, page 65); and
- the Checklist for Premium Increase Communications (See Attachment Seven of the Meeting Materials, page 82). The MSA Framework will be considered by Exec/Plenary at the 2022 Spring National Meeting.
NAIC’s Long-Term Care Insurance Multistate Rate Review (EX) Subgroup Releases New MSA Framework Draft
NAIC’s Long-Term Care Insurance Multistate Rate Review (EX) Subgroup recently released a new draft of its MSA Framework document. Comments are due by December 6.
The NAIC has charged the Long‐Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force with developing a consistent national approach for reviewing current LTCi rates that results in actuarially appropriate increases being granted by the states in a timely manner and that eliminates cross‐state rate subsidization.