Description: Article on the history of the Long Term Care Discussion Group, a Washington DC-based venue for discussing long-term care and related issues for over 20 years.

Description: Announcement of changes to the LTC Section, and a preview of the articles in the December 2009 issue of Long Term Care News, with topics including Health care reform and LTC vs. Medicaid.

Description: Stakeholders in a specific state (Minnesota) were interviewed about the potential value -- and obstacles -- of a catastrophic backstop program to handle long term care (LTC) financing needs. The design would entail a payroll deduction which would produce a fund to pay LTC expenses once a deductible period (of 1 to 4 years, depending on income) was reached. This design was believed to encourage enrollees to cover the front end better than done today, whether by private insurance or other means.

Description: Recently, the SCAN Foundation, AARP, LeadingAge, and HHS funded economic modeling conducted by Milliman and the Urban Institute around LTC reform elements. The LTC industry has over the years also generated ideas to address the on-coming expansion of LTC needs in the U.S. For this article, we have brought together three individuals who have long involvement with LTC financing to discuss some of the recent ideas and provide some perspectives on their pluses and minuses.

Description: Company Considerations and Regulatory Perspective for Offering Reduced Benefit Options

Description: Highlights from the 8th Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance Conference held in March 2008, consisting of 56 sessions covering a range of long-term care insurance LTCI topics each with a track-specific focus.

Description: Recently, the SCAN Foundation, AARP, LeadingAge, and HHS funded economic modeling conducted by Milliman and the Urban Institute around LTC reform elements. The LTC industry has over the years also generated ideas to address the on-coming expansion of LTC needs in the U.S. For this article, we have brought together three individuals who have long involvement with LTC financing to discuss some of the recent ideas and provide some perspectives on their pluses and minuses.

Description: Report on meetings sessions in each of 5 tracks for Long Term Care professionals: Actuarial, Compliance, Operations, Policy and Provers, and Group.

Description: The LTC insurance sector faces a crisis of credibility due to recent company failures. Market evidence indicates reduced confidence in the reserve sufficiency of companies with large legacy LTC exposures. Disclosures show the persistence of problematic actuarial and investment return assumptions. Institutional backstops exist but vary by jurisdiction and have elements which can exacerbate rather than ameliorate problems. Fortunately, LTC liabilities accrue over long time periods. An industry supported incentive structure can be conceived that would establish stronger standards and encourage greater reserving in exchange for a more reliable and rational backstop.