Description: Proposes setting premiums such that inflation and age could change the premium over time, rather than prefunding. The value may be to change the approach to pricing LTC and improve the risk.

Description: The author analyzes why LTCi is so risky, capital-intensive and unprofitable, and then makes the case that if we rethink the fundamental way a stand-alone LTCi should work, it can be transformed into a successful product.

Description: The author discusses changes in LTC insurance transactions.

Description: Long Term Care Think Tank: Exploring the possibilities for helping the American public manage the financial burden of long term care. This report shares the output of a 1.5 day structured brainstorming session involving some of the LTC industry’s preeminent thought leaders. Ideas presented here are intended to help transform the delivery, accessibility, and financing of long term care.

Description: For a long time the primary focus of private LTC insurance companies has been to educate the public about the need for private LTC insurance and to make the product more acceptable to a wider population. To this end there have been numerous changes to the product design to make this product more acceptable to general population. However, one of the things that may have been overlooked in those product design changes is the need for alignment of policyholder and insurance company’s interests, which is to make coverage more affordable and to reduce adverse selection. Incentivizing good behavior from policyholders can not only make LTC insurance policies less expensive but also help policyholders make better health choices, which can help them stay healthy for a longer time. These incentives may also reduce some of the inherent risks in a long term care policy and may help in increasing the sales of private LTC insurance.

Description: The Congressional Budget Office reports that out-of-pocket expenses accounted for 19 percent of the total long-term care LTC expenses in the United States in 2006, and private LTC insurance accounted for only 8 percent of these expenses, which shows that Americans are underinsured for LTC expenses. While it is true that public programs like Medicaid and Medicare cover much of the nation’s LTC expenses 68 percent of the total LTC expenses in the United States in 2006, eligibility for these programs comes at a great cost to the individual.

Description: This article provides insight on how the worksite LTC market has evolved, and how new concepts like "Financial Wellness" are serving as a catalyst to engage employees in LTC Planning during their working years.

Description: Overview of market research plan to test consumer interest in 2 new LTC finance options which emerged from the most recent Society of Actuaries' LTC Think Tank

Description: There are many ways to manage a long-term care closed block of policies but some of the common ones are rate increases, enhancement of claim practices and helping policyholders to remain independent and thriving at home.

Description: The author discusses health care practices in Japan and how the US could successfully adopt some of them.