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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
NAIC ADOPTS NEW
LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS ST. LOUIS (Sept. 12,
2006)
- The Health
Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee of the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted several revisions to the Long Term
Care Model Act and Regulation during its Fall National Meeting in St.
Louis, including provisions that will increase access to care and allow
insurance consumers more flexibility in managing the cost of their
coverage. The model act includes a new section on
producer training, which requires producers to complete a one-time,
eight-hour training course before selling long-term care insurance
products and an ongoing, four-hour training requirement from that point
on. The training will cover long-term care insurance, as well as
information about Partnership programs and their relationship to the
Medicaid program. The amended NAIC model act and
regulation also address how state insurance departments can fulfill their
responsibility under the Federal Deficit Reduction Act to provide
assurance that a producer who sells a partnership policy demonstrates an
understanding of such policies and their relationship to public and
private coverage of long-term care. "The market for long-term care
insurance is rapidly growing and changing," said NAIC Vice President and
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. "As regulators, we are
working to make sure consumers have confidence in the policies they are
buying." The amendments ensure that long-term
care insurance policies would pay for services in facilities in other
states, even if the facilities are licensed or registered in a different
way from those in the state in which the policy was
sold. Carriers often require the long-term
care facilities they reimburse to be licensed or registered to ensure the
highest quality of care for their beneficiaries. This requirement has, at
times, resulted in nonpayment to facilities in other states because they
are not properly certified. The modification to the model act will allow
carriers to protect their beneficiaries, without the unintended
consequences. The adopted amendments also will
provide consumers with more options when new services or providers become
available in the market and greater flexibility to reduce coverage in
order to make premiums more affordable. These key improvements give
consumers more control over their coverage. The Long-Term Care (B) Working Group continues to review both the NAIC Long Term Care Insurance Model Act and Regulation to improve consumer protections and options.
About the NAIC Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC's overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm
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2006 National Association of Insurance Commissioners. All rights reserved. | ||
