Senate to Put LTCI Under the Microscope

“The hearing will focus on the long-term care system and opportunities for improving the quality of care while at the same time achieving significant cost savings,” the staffers say. “The hearing will also highlight the need, risks and costs of long-term care insurance, especially for working Americans. ”

The chairman of the committee, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has put out an initial hearing witness list that includes Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office (CBO) director; John O’Brien, the director of health care and insurance at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Loren Colman, the assistant commissioner in charge of LTC at the Minnesota Department of Human Services; Judy Feder, a professor at Georgetown University; and Dr. Bruce Chernof, president of The SCAN Foundation, Long Beach, Calif.

None of the witnesses on the initial witness list appears to have significant experience with designing, pricing, underwriting, selling or administering private LTCI products.