|
|
|
|
| | Back | |
|
|
NALC What's New... Read the latest NALC publications: In the News
Upcoming Meetings Save the Date!2010 Fall ConferenceSeptember 22 –
24, 2010
|
Life Industry Hopes Government-Run Long-Term-Care Program Puts Spotlight on LTC NeedU.S. health reform legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama includes a provision that creates a government-run long-term care program — something the life industry hopes will point up the importance of the coverage. Michael Gallo, senior vice president of New York Life, in charge of long-term care insurance, said that "given the very modest benefits provided and the long waiting period before they are paid, we believe the need for private insurance will grow. We are optimistic that the awareness of the need for LTC coverage will increase due to the publicity surrounding the government program." Whit Cornman, a spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers, said his group hopes the law "serves to accent the importance of long-term care coverage." It is two years away from implementation and the program won't pay benefits for five years after that, he said. The ACLI urged Congress to exclude the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS) from any final health reform bill. The law creates a government-run long-term care insurance program that provides an average benefit of no less than $50 a day for long-term care services, such as at-home care. Government programs like Medicaid and Medicare pay for the majority of people's long-term care services, said Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance. Some are frustrated that only 8 million Americans have bought long-term care insurance, he said. CLASS "will finally help people understand that there is a modest government program for those who are uninsurable or who only can or choose to afford a policy offering limited benefits," Slome said. For those who don't want a government program or can and choose to afford private insurance, "long-term care insurance will continue to be a viable option," he said. The program, according to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, will help families and the government save money on long-term care. The group, in a statement, said it's "far less expensive to care for someone in his home than it is to care for him in a nursing home." The benefits can be used to pay for a home care aide who helps a beneficiary dress or bathe, said the group, which says it was key to ensuring the program was included in health reform. Mike Smith, president of The Brokerage Inc., has said the government plan would "kill the long-term care insurance industry in a New York minute." Under CLASS, participants would pay a monthly premium to be determined annually by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The premium is a deduction from take-home pay that would continue, unless an employee opts out. It's a voluntary federal insurance program in a system intended to be actuarially sound. The key problem, critics have said: While it will take in tens of billions during its initial years — because of its five-year vesting requirement — once it starts paying benefits, the program may eventually pay more than it receives in premiums. But the AAHSA said the Congressional Budget Office projected the program would lower the federal deficit by $72 billion over its first 10 years. If a participant becomes disabled, he's eligible for cash benefits of between $50 and $100 a day to help pay for care, as long as he's paid premiums for five years, the AAHSA said. he U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division of HHS, estimates the average monthly premium for the program, as passed by the Senate, would be $240.
|
|
| Back Copyright © 2003-2010, National Alliance
of Life Companies
|
|
