CONNECTICUT: LONG-TERM CARE PARTNERSHIP PROMOTED
Connecticut is set to begin an advertising campaign laterThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
this month aimed at enticing state residents to participate in
the Connecticut Partnership for Long Term Care, a program
designed to encourage residents to purchase long-term care
insurance. HARTFORD COURANT reports that since the program was
initiated in 1992, only 2,600 long-term care policies have been
sold; approximately one million state residents are "candidates
for such insurance." The state hopes to encourage more residents
to participate in the program by promising them that "they will
receive a lifetime of care without draining their life savings."
Similar programs are currently operating in New York, California
and Indiana.
DETAILS: Under the program, the state has joined forces
with selected insurance companies that have agreed to "meet
rigorous standards for their long-term care packages." Eligible
residents can purchase the policies directly from the insurers,
or through group packages offered by some employers. The COURANT
reports that although the state does not subsidize the policies,
insurers do offer certain incentives. Unlike some non-
partnership policies, the state-endorsed plans will appreciate so
that their value "keeps pace with inflation." And most policies
offer an option of using the insurance money to pay for home
care.
HOW IT WORKS: According to the COURANT, most non-
partnership policies force elderly residents to sell their assets
to pay for care once their insurance money runs out. However, a
partnership policy would allow residents to apply for Medicaid
"while keeping assets that are equal the amount that insurance
has already paid out." For example, if an individual's policy
paid for $150,000 worth of care, they can keep $150,000 in assets
and still have their care paid for by Medicaid.
BUDGET BUSTER: COURANT reports that the state currently
pays $921 million, or 10% of the entire state budget, for
Medicaid nursing home care. That number is expected to increase
to $1.4 billion by 2000, ten years before "the state's huge
population of baby boomers starts turning 65." However, the
state hopes to reduce its long-term care costs by seven percent
by 2030 under the partnership program "by making more private
money available for nursing home care." And since the average
nursing home stay is 2.5 years, "there's a chance that insurance
can eliminate the need for Medicaid in some cases" (Waldman,
7/13).