CALIFORNIA: INSURANCE HEAD RESCINDS LTC DIRECTIVE
California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush hasThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
"rescinded a controversial directive on" the sale of long-term
care insurance policies in the state (Lent, JOURNAL OF COMMERCE,
2/25). The directive was the result of a conflict between a 1992
California law mandating certain long-term care benefits and
last year's federal Kassebaum-Kennedy health insurance reform
law. State law requires insurers to offer a greater array of
benefits than policies that qualify for a tax exemption under
Kassebaum-Kennedy. Quackenbush issued a directive that allowed
the sale of policies with fewer benefits. He said he did so to
allow consumers and insurers to take advantage of the tax breaks
(see AHL 12/10/96).
NOT SO FAST: Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert
O'Brien ruled last week that "Quackenbush had violated state law
... when he published the bulletin." On Friday, Quackenbush
complied with the ruling and rescinded approvals for 15 firms
that wanted to sell tax-qualified policies. Jaime Court,
director of Consumers for Quality Care, said, "This is a victory
for seniors who deserve to be heard before their benefits are
slashed" (JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, 2/25).