Long-Term Care Insurance: An Assessment of States' Capacity to Review and Regulate Rates
February 2002
AARP Public Policy Institute
Lewin contact: Lisa Alecxih
For an AARP Public Policy Institute issue paper, Long-Term Care Insurance: An Assessment of States' Capacity to Review and Regulate Rates, The Lewin Group conducted a survey of state insurance departments' current practices relating to the regulation of long-term care insurance rates and assessed their ability to effectively regulate premiums for the long-term care insurance market. Several reports in the last decade question the adequacy of state regulatory efforts, citing insufficient regulatory efforts to protect consumers and chronic shortages of staff and resources. In addition, large increases in rates by some companies raise concerns about state efforts to ensure accurate pricing for long-term care insurance. Large rate increases, or a series of rate increases over time, could: (1) threaten consumers' ability to continue paying for coverage; and (2) erode confidence in the products being offered by the industry. The paper presents findings from the survey and ratings of states' current pricing review practices, as well as recommendations.