Jesse Slome, leading long term care insurance expert, director AALTCI

As part of ongoing agent educational efforts, the director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance held the latest in a series of LTC Plan Talk discussions.  The topic was comparing the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance plan.

“The Federal Long-Term Care Insurance program remains the largest group-sponsored long-term care plan in the nation,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance association.   ”It has some very attractive features that those who are eligible should consider and take advantage of.”

“There are also some things consumers considering the plan should take into consideration,” Slome pointed out.  “We always urge comparisons because long-term care insurance is a policy you only buy once in your lifetime, so you really want to make the best choice of coverage anticipating care that you might not need for 10 or 20 years.”

The leading long-term care insurance expert pointed out that the ability to receive care in their own home is a primary objective shared by consumers who think about the future risk of needing care.  “We know people want to remain in their own home and that’s possible but it can be costly,” Slome points out.

One of the agents pointed out a disadvantage of the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance plan is that benefits are based on daily limits versus other plans that offer a monthly allotment.  “That’s correct,” Slome shared.  “Say the Federal plan claim limit is $150 and your daily home care costs $200 on Monday and $40 on Tuesday,” he explains.  “The Federal plan would reimburse $190 and the policyholder would pay the rest out-of-pocket.  But with a monthly reimbursement that paid $4,500, the consumer can flexibly manage their home care services, a real advantage.”

Another disadvantage shared during the call with the Federal plan’s 90-day elimination period (EP).  “That’s a common deductible dating back to when long-term care first started in the 1980s,” Slome add.  “The consumer has to pay all the costs during the elimination period.  But, today there are plans that have a 90-day EP for skilled nursing home care with a zero day EP for home care services.  Since most long-term care insurance claims start and end in the home, this is an important consideration for consumers to understand.”

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance advocates for the importance of long-term care planning and helps consumers connect with knowledgeable professionals who are independent advisors.   Consumers looking for local long-term care insurance agents or cost comparisons should visit the Association’s website at www.aaltci.org or can call the organization’s national headquarters at 818-597-3227.

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The open season period, which ran from April 4 to June 24, allowed these individuals to sign up for the long term care insurance coverage with abbreviated underwriting, which means they had to answer fewer health questions during the enrollment process.

The Office of Personnel Management, which runs the program, said today that the 20 percent increase in enrollment brought the program to 270,000 total enrollees.  “The Federal program is the nation’s largest group plan,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org.  “In addition to those enrolling in the plan, we estimate some 10,000 or more individuals purchased private coverage as a result of all the promotion.”

“We’ve seen strong support for the program in federal agencies, and ultimately in the number of people who applied and were accepted into the program,” OPM Director John Berry said in a statement. “OPM is proud of the success of the FLTCIP — one of the most flexible, inclusive and affordable long term care insurance programs, designed to help employees plan for their needs as they age.” 

The open enrollment was the first major open season since OPM initiated the program and the first time eligibility was extended to same-sex domestic partners. OPM said it received more than 300 applications from same-sex domestic partners. 

“We were receiving as many as 30 calls a day from consumers during the open enrollment period,” Slome adds.  “As a result, we expect overall industry sales for 2011 will be higher than 2010 a most welcome occurrence.”

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The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance does not lobby legislative bodies.  We are not paid by insurance companies.  Our financial support primarily comes from insurance and financial professionals who are members.  The mission of AALTCI is to inform and advocate for sound long-term care planning for all Americans and support our membership.

The passage of CLASS does not negate the need for private long-term care coverage in any way.  While we have concerns about the long-term fiscal soundness of the plan, we are optimistic that the program will play a significant role in raising consumer awareness about the many issues surrounding long-term health care and the need to plan for the risk of needing this type of costly care.

Many of the details regarding the CLASS program are not yet defined and will be developed through Government regulation.  The following is designed to address what is known currently and to answer the most common questions being asked.  We will make changes as new information becomes available.

The Association has posted current information.  Click on this link to read more about the CLASS Act.

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