Senior Issues (B) Task Force
December 3, 2007

The Senior Issues (B) Task Force met on Monday, December 3, 2007.

During this meeting, the Senior Issues Task Force:

• Adopted amendments to the Guidance Manual for Rating Aspects of the Long-Term Care Insurance Model Regulation.  The Manual was adopted by the Life and Health Actuarial Task Force in 2005.  The Senior Issues Task Force intended to adopt the Manual at the same time as the amendments to the Long Term Care Model Act and Regulation, but did not.  The amendments to the Manual are consistent with the current Long Term Care Insurance Model Regulation. 

• Received an update on the joint Market Analysis Working Group and Senior Issues Task Force data call.  The data call sought information from the 25 highest premium volume long-term care companies.  The deadline for responding was November 15, 2007.  Two companies reported that they incorrectly completed their financial blanks and that they do not write long-term care insurance.  The NAIC received data from 22 of the remaining 23 companies. The data is being analyzed by the NAIC.

• Received an update on the Senior Issues Task Force survey on the application of state claims payment, internal appeals and external review laws to long-term care insurance.  All the states responded to the survey. 

• Received an update on the implementation of the long-term care Partnership Program.  Since the last National Meeting, Ohio has had their State Plan Amendment approved by CMS and legislation authorizing the development of a Long Term Care Partnership program has passed in Wisconsin.  Commissioner Holland (OK) raised the issue of coordination between the Producer Licensing Model Act requirements and the Producer Training requirements in the Long Term Care Insurance Model Act. 

• Received an update on the GAO Survey on Long Term Care.  The Government Accounting Office has started interviewing states for a report on long-term care insurance.

• Received an update on implementation of an information-sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between state Departments of Insurance and CMS.  Forty-five states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have signed the MOU.  States and regional offices have started sharing information manually, and CMS is working to automate their systems as well as give states access to their plan management database. 

• Received an update on the Medicare Private Plans Subgroup activities.  The Subgroup will continue development of a white paper with various policy issues and possible solutions.  The interim meeting of the Subgroup originally scheduled for December 11-12, 2007 in Washington, DC has been cancelled and will likely be rescheduled for some time in January.

• Received an update on pending federal legislation.

• Received an update from the Accident and Health Working Group.  They plan to have a conference call to continue work on the refund formula.

Action Items:

1. The Task Force adopted  the Guidance Manual for Rating Aspects of the Long-Term Care Insurance Model Regulation.