Long-Term Care Insurance: Wellness Program Impacts on Claims and Health Outcomes

Insurance partner Nolan Tully and associate Jamie Campisi recently coauthored an article for LexisNexis Practical Guidance that discusses how wellness programs can be used to potentially prevent, delay or lower the severity of long-term care claims and improve health outcomes.

They give an overview of the wellness programs, noting that they are largely focused on pre-insurance-claim intervention but that services can be provided to healthy, at-risk and on-claim populations alike. Nolan and Jamie provide examples of wellness initiatives, including engagement initiatives, support wellness interventions and care wellness programs.

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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.

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.

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LTCi Carrier Secures Dismissal of Class Action Case Alleging ERISA Violations Stemming from LTC Insurance Premium Rate Increases

A federal judge has dismissed a putative class action case brought by a plaintiff asserting ERISA violations against The Prudential Company of America (“Prudential”) and Tufts University (“Tufts”), stemming from premium rate increases to an ERISA group long-term care insurance plan sponsored by plaintiff’s employer, Tufts, and issued by Prudential.

On July 12, 2022, United States District Judge Richard Stearns granted Tufts and Prudential’s respective motions to dismiss the action, Parmenter v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, et al., No. 1:22-CV-10079, Dkt. No. 43 (D. Mass. July 12, 2022), which was originally filed on January 20, 2022 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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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.

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.

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Possible $2.5 billion CalPERS Settlement Agreement Falls Through

A possible settlement agreement has fallen through in a suit between CalPERS and a group of policyholders over a 2013 proposed 85 percent rate hike. The agreement would have covered approximately 60,000 policyholders.

The suit was filed by California policyholders that elected to pay for inflation protection benefits in their long-term care insurance (LTCi) policies, ranging from policies purchased in the 1990s through 2004. The Plaintiffs alleged that CalPERS proposed rate hike violated their policy agreements. They contended that CalPERS marketing materials promised that the policies’ optional benefit would not increase their premiums, while CalPERS asserted that it had the authority to raise rates to keep plans funded.

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The Amount and Novelty of Wellness Programs in LTC Continues to Proliferate

As aging in place continues to be a focal point in the long-term care (LTC) industry, providers and insurers are exploring and developing cutting-edge wellness programs aimed at helping improve the health of insureds, keeping insureds home longer, and hopefully reducing the number, severity and duration of LTC insurance (LTCi) claims.

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