PHCA Praises Administration on Significant Reductions in Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increase Requests

Harrisburg—Following the recent announcement of significant reductions to long-term care insurance rate increase requests by insurers, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) today applauded Insurance Commissioner Miller Teresa Miller and the Wolf Administration for their continuing commitment to ensure the commonwealth builds and maintains the finest long-term care system in the nation.

PHCA President and CEO W. Russell McDaid testified in front of the Insurance Commissioner in March, noting that as a rapidly aging state with a growing senior population, Pennsylvania has a lot at stake when it comes to issues affecting older residents.

“No one likes to think about getting older, facing chronic illness or becoming too frail to safely live on our own. But it happens, and when it does, more and more seniors and their families are finding themselves unprepared,” testified McDaid. “Data show that only 35 percent of people 65 or older think they will need long-term care in the future, whereas 70 percent of those turning 65 this year will eventually require some form of long-term care. Despite these facts, few people have insurance coverage against the high cost of their long-term care.”

State governments alone cannot solve all of the problems of financing long-term care that exist today, McDaid explained. Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program can and should do its part, but the current growth curve for the State’s Medicaid program is not sustainable. Private sector insurance coverage must be part of the solution.

“Clearly, individuals should carry a part of the responsibility for financing their own long-term care whenever possible, and long-term care insurance is one way to do this,” McDaid noted. “That’s why PHCA applauds this decision by the Commissioner to reduce the rate increases and examine other options that may further reduce or eliminate any rate increase for many policyholders, in return for accepting some type of reduced benefit. With changes like these, consumers are far more likely to view long-term care insurance as a viable option to meet their long-term care needs — and that’s exactly what we need.”

Testimony is available on the PHCA website at https://www.phca.org/advocacy/issue-brief-testimony/.