The first meeting of the Long-Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force is tentatively scheduled to be held in Kansas City during the NAIC Insurance Summit the week of June 3rd. Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott A. White will chair the task force and Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway will serve as vice chair. Full membership is still under consideration and all members have been invited to participate. Lead regulators from the states of Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia were instrumental in the formation of the new task force and its charges which follow:
Recognizing the gravity of the threat posed by the current long-term care insurance environment both to consumers and our state-based system of insurance regulation, the Long-Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force is charged with developing a consistent national approach for reviewing long-term care insurance rates that result in actuarially appropriate increases being granted by the states in a timely manner, and eliminates cross-state rate subsidization. Identify options to provide consumers choice regarding modifications to long-term care insurance (LTCI) contract benefits where policies are no longer affordable due to rate increases.
Deliver such a proposal to the Executive Committee by the 2020 Fall National Meeting. Provide periodic reporting to the LTCI (B/E) Task Force to help ensure coordination between the two task forces on LTCI issues.
Unless otherwise affirmatively extended or modified by the Executive (EX) Committee, the Task Force and its charges will expire January 31, 2021.
NAIC President and Maine Superintendent Eric A. Cioppa highlighted long-term care insurance market challenges in his welcome remarks at the Spring 2019 National Meeting. "A basic concern of the NAIC is ensuring policyholders receive the benefit of their policies when they need it," said Cioppa. "Long-term care insurance is no different. The market dynamics of longer lifespans, increasing cost of care, and underpriced legacy policies have been an ongoing challenge to market stability."
In addition to the new task force, the NAIC adopted updates to the long-term care insurance shopper's guide, which will be published and available soon. The revisions remove obsolete language and streamline the document making it easier for consumer use.
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