Kohl Unveils LTC Bill

WASHINGTON BUREAU — Sen. Herbert Kohl has introduced a bill, S. 1177, that would press state regulators to create uniform long term care insurance solvency and consumer protection rules.

Kohl, D-Wis., announced the introduction of the bill Wednesday at a hearing convened by the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Kohl heads the committee.

Kohl implied that he and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension committee, would work to include bill provisions in the health reform legislation now being drafted in the Senate.

Kennedy and HELP Committee staffers said earlier this week that a draft bill might be unveiled as early as Friday.

“Until we can guarantee that consumers have adequate information and protections, and that premiums won’t skyrocket down the road, LTC insurance is not ready to be a major part of the health care reform solution,” Kohl said.

The Kohl bill, “The Confidence in Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 2009,” would:

- Direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, to ask the NAIC to conduct a biennial survey of national and state LTC insurance markets.

- Require delivery of a number of reports to Congress, including ?a report on the results of the biennial market review; ?biennial reports on the impact of Medicaid LTC insurance partnership programs; and a report on the need for minimum annual inflation-protection.

- Expand the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information to include Web-based LTC insurance policy comparison tools.

- Change the rules governing matters such as premium rate stability, market disclosures, and agent training, by extending the scope of rules that already apply to LTC Partnership program policies.