A third legislative committee has advanced a broad bill that would add protections for purchasers of long-term care insurance and boost transparency around rate hike requests.
The Government Oversight Committee on Tuesday passed a measure that would require public hearings for rate increase requests that exceed 10%, notifications to prospective buyers about the risk of rate hikes, and caps on premium increases for certain long-term care insurance policies. The caps placed on some plans would be tied to the consumer price index.
Additionally, under the proposal, the state’s Office of Health Strategy, working with the Office of Policy and Management and the insurance commissioner, would have to undertake a sweeping review of current regulation of long-term care insurance and suggest areas for improvement. This could include revisions to Connecticut’s rate filing and approval process. The agencies must issue a report to the legislature by Feb. 1, 2026.
A new section of the bill, added recently, would also require state auditors to conduct audits of Connecticut’s long-term care insurance partnership plan, a joint program by the state and private industry that has sold policies to more than 60,000 people since its inception in 1992, “not less than biennially.”
Rep. Kurt Vail, R-Stafford, a member of the committee, called the measure “a step in the right direction.”
“It’s a major issue,” he said. “These rates are becoming absurd, where people can’t even afford them. They took the time — or the initiative — to purchase these policies, which most people don’t. There’s definitely a problem here, and I think this will help address that problem.”
“This bill looks to offer transparency for our constituents,” said Rep. Lucy Dathan, D-Norwalk, co-chair of the committee. “If there are rate increases in excess of 10%, we want to make sure our folks know that they can tune in [to public hearings] and hear about the reasoning behind the increases.”
The government oversight panel’s proposal is the third committee bill on long-term care insurance to advance. The Insurance and Real Estate Committee and the Aging Committee also passed legislation on the issue.
Nearly 100,000 people in Connecticut have long-term care insurance — coverage that, depending on the policy, supports skilled in-home care, rehabilitation therapy, assisted living, nursing home stays and respite care.
A Connecticut Mirror investigation found the annual cost of maintaining these policies has skyrocketed for many residents due to miscalculations by insurers on how long people would live, the price of care and how many would need it. Consumers face sizable rate increases, often exceeding 50% and, for a few dozen people, as high as 174%, according to a CT Mirror analysis.
A review of rate hikes from January 2019 to October 2024 shows more than 17,000 people with long-term care policies have gotten hit with increases of 50% or more. Some of the biggest companies in the market, including Genworth Financial, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Life Insurance Company, requested hikes for five years in a row beginning in 2019.
When providers seek premium increases, thousands of consumers can be affected. In 2019, for example, Genworth Financial requested a 40% rate hike on more than 9,000 Connecticut policyholders. In 2021, Transamerica requested a 20% rate increase on 8,000 policies. The Insurance Department approved both requests with no changes.
In 2022, Genworth raised rates for more than 2,000 people by an average of 97%, with increases ranging from 79% to 173%, depending on the policy. The approved amounts were a slight reduction from the company’s original request.
As consumers are squeezed, grievances filed with the Connecticut Insurance Department have mounted. The office received more than 700 complaints in the last six years about long-term care insurance, mostly rising premiums.
“It’s a high priority; we have to do it,” Rep. Ron Napoli, D-Waterbury, who co-sponsored the bill with the Government Oversight Committee, has said. “The fact that people’s premiums are increasing by over 50% is just outrageous. It shouldn’t be happening. It’s a high priority this year that we come up with something tangible to give ratepayers some relief.”