Hearing Finds Federal Standards for Long-Term Care Insurance Needed

Witnesses at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing called on federal lawmakers to require minimum standards for private long-term care insurance policies.

Bonnie Burns, a training and policy specialist at California Health Advocates, said that because states regulate such policies, the standards offered differ based on where policyholders live. She said, "It should not depend on the state a person lives in whether they have a quality product," adding, "there's a disconnect between those services available in a community and the way they are described in an insurance policy, and no two companies have the same definitions."

Burns recommended the National Association of Insurance Commissioners create a working group to develop standards for all states to follow for greater consumer protection. She also advocated for free counseling by the federally funded State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to help consumers who have inquiries.