The Society of Actuaries' Long Term Care (LTC) Section Council and ILTCI Conference Association continue their dedication to advancing knowledge in LTC and furthering the industry. In keeping with their desire to add to the LTC body of knowledge, the organizations are greatly interested in receiving proposals for research on the topics described in the Research Objective section (Section II) of this document. It is the intention of both organizations to formally initiate projects on several of these topics this year with the remaining ones to be possibly covered in subsequent years.

To advance knowledge in LTC, the SOA LTC Section Council and ILTCI Conference Association would like to receive proposals related to the following topics. Proposals are welcome on one or more of the topics. The description of each of the topics has been deliberately written briefly and primarily open-ended in order to give potential proposers sufficient latitude in the development of proposals:

• An investigation of the impact of pre–claim intervention/wellness programs on long–term care claims. Do these programs make back their investment by reducing claim costs?
• Production of a model that projects savings to Medicaid from increased LTC insurance policy sales. The model results may be used in discussions of the tax treatment of LTC benefits, depending on the magnitude of the savings.
• An analysis of who benefits and who loses from the introduction of Partnership Plans: The production of a model to estimate gains and losses, over the short, intermediate and long run, to various stakeholders: State and Federal Government, insurance companies, LTC policyholders, and taxpayers.
• Quantification of the natural hedge between LTC and life linked products. Considerations include what pricing assumptions are appropriate, what benefit combination maximizes the value of the hedge, and what impact there is on capital requirements.
• A morbidity/persistency study of married vs. non–married insureds, including whether experience differs after the death of one spouse.
• A claim termination/mortality study by site of care, such as nursing homes, alternative living facilities, and home care.
• An assessment of the potential for improvement in both cognitive and non–cognitive claims through innovative treatments or emerging care delivery methods, and the impact on LTC insurance profitability of such improvement.

To facilitate the evaluation of proposals, the following information should be submitted:

1. Resumes of the researcher(s), including any graduate student(s) expected to participate, indicating how their background, education and experience bear on their qualifications to undertake the research. If more than one researcher is involved, a single individual should be designated as the lead researcher and primary contact. The person submitting the proposal must be authorized to speak on behalf of all the researchers as well as for the firm or institution on whose behalf the proposal is submitted.
2. An outline of the approach to be used, emphasizing issues that require special consideration. Details should be given regarding the techniques to be used, collateral material to be consulted, and possible limitations of the analysis.
3. Cost estimates for the research, including computer time, salaries, report preparation, research costs, etc. Such estimates can be in the form of hourly rates, but in such cases, time estimates should also be included. Any guarantees as to total cost should be given and will be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. While cost will be a factor in the evaluation of the proposal, it will not necessarily be the decisive factor.
4. A schedule for completion of the research, identifying key dates or time frames for research completion and report submissions.
5. Ideas regarding the form and distribution of the final report, both for immediate release and for permanent reference (e.g., submission to North American Actuarial Journal, SOA Monograph Series, CD ROM).
6. Other related factors that give evidence of a proposer's capabilities to perform in a superior fashion should be detailed.

The SOA LTC Section Council and ILTCI Conference Association are responsible for the selection of the proposals to be funded. Input from other knowledgeable individuals also may be sought, but the organizations will make the final decision. The SOA's Research Actuary will provide staff actuarial support. A POG will be appointed to oversee each project that is initiated.

Any questions regarding this RFP should be directed by fax, or e-mail to:

Steven Siegel
SOA Research Actuary
f: 847.273.8578
e–mail: ssiegel@soa.org

If you intend to submit a proposal, please send written notification by May 15, 2010 to: Barbara Scott by e–mail (bscott@soa.org) or Fax (847.273.8592).

Please e–mail a copy of the proposal to: Barbara Scott at bscott@soa.org.

Proposals must be received no later than June 1, 2010. It is anticipated that all researchers who have submitted proposals will be informed of the status of their proposal no later than June 30, 2010.

Note: Proposals are considered confidential and proprietary.

The SOA LTC Section Council and ILTCI Conference Association reserve the right to not award a contract for these research topics. Reasons for not awarding a contract could include, but are not limited to, a lack of acceptable proposals or a finding that insufficient funds are available to proceed. The SOA also reserves the right to redirect the projects as is deemed advisable. The SOA intends to copyright and publish the results of this research. The research will be considered work-for-hire and all rights thereto belong to the SOA. However, appropriate credit will be given to the researcher(s).