The Hawaii Department of Health has put out a request for "long-term services and supports" awareness campaign proposals that, really, is an accidental awareness advertisement for general liability insurance, automobile liability insurance and workers' compensation insurance.
Officials at the department are implementing a new state law that requires them to warn state residents that they ought to plan for future LTSS needs; that they might have to use or act as unpaid caregivers; and that Medicare and private health insurance do not ordinarily pay for LTSS.
See also: Real acronyms: LTC or LTSS?
But, for what may be good, practical marketing reasons, the officials neuter their own campaign in their own RFP by saying they want the new LTSS campaign to get away from the concepts of "nursing home care" and insurance, because those concepts are just too depressing. The officials want the winning vendor to emphasize the concept of "maximizing independent living."
Critics of LTCI issuers sometimes say insurers got the product off to a bad start by focusing on the risk of needing nursing home care and other depressing topics. Those critics say LTCI issuers should have focused more on benefits people can use to stay in their own homes, which is where most people want to be when they get old.
