Enrollment in CalPERS’ Long-Term Care Insurance Program Down
Enrollment in CalPERS' long-term care insurance plan has dropped by 4.5% since the end of 2013, when the pension fund reopened enrollment in the program, the Sacramento Bee's "The State Worker" reports.
Background
According to the "The State Worker," CalPERS did not accept new applications for the program, which covers nursing home care and related services, between 2008 and 2013 in an effort to curb its financial losses. Among other things, the losses occurred because of a combination of:
- Claims costs that exceeded actuarial expectations; and
- Under-priced policies.
CalPERS reopened enrollment at the end of 2013, expanded eligibility beyond pension members and launched an advertisement campaign to encourage enrollment (Ortiz, "The State Worker," Sacramento Bee, 10/1).
In addition, CalPERS' Board of Administration in October 2012 unanimously approved a plan to raise long-term care insurance premiums by 85% for hundreds of thousands of state workers and retirees (California Healthline, 8/7/13).
The decision spurred a lawsuit that is pending. Meanwhile CalPERS has stopped selling those policies and has urged policyholders in those plans to switch to lower-cost options.
Details of Enrollment
According to "The State Worker," CalPERS' long-term care program had 135,634 enrollees as of Aug. 31, down from 142,050 enrollees on Dec. 31, 2013.
As of Sept. 25, CalPERS had received 2,122 applications for the program and approved 1,197, or 56%. The remainder were declined or withdrawn ("The State Worker," Sacramento Bee, 10/1).
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