HARTFORD – State Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) today celebrated the House of Representatives’ final passage of his long-term care (LTC) insurance bill that restricts rate increases for policies sold in Connecticut, requires insurers to report how much they are paying out each year in long-term insurance costs,  and studies the potential impact of policyholders getting their premiums back if LTC policy increases exceed the rate of inflation.

Senate Bill 478 passed the House this evening on an overwhelming and bipartisan 146-4 vote after passing the Senate on a bipartisan and nearly unanimous 35-1 vote on April 30. The bill now heads to Governor Ned Lamont for his signature into law.  

“I am humbled by the overwhelming and bipartisan support expressed for this bill in both chambers of the General Assembly. It speaks to the fact that all of us have constituents who have invested in these plans, have seen the cost of these plans skyrocket beyond their wildest dreams, and who are desperate to be able to continue this coverage in a more affordable manner,” Sen. Lesser said. “Long-term care policies have become a problem nationwide, and this bill provides options for policyholders.”

About 100,000 people in Connecticut have long-term care policies, but they have seen their annual premiums skyrocket due to failed insurance company estimates on how long they would live and how expensive medical care would be.

Senate Bill 478 seeks to rein in these premium hikes in the following ways:

• A LTC policy issuer shall not use or change premium rates for a long-term care policy unless the rates have been filed with and approved by the commissioner.
• A LTC issuer must file a report every year listing the losses incurred and actual paid losses for each long-term care policy they issued in Connecticut.
• The Insurance Commissioner may study what the effect would be of a requirement that LTC issuers provide policyholders with the opportunity to cancel their policies — and obtain full refunds of any premiums they have paid since the start of the policy — whenever the insurer seeks a rate increase that exceeds the rate of inflation
• Any insurance company that files a rate filing for an increase in its premium rates for a LTC policy for 20 percent or more must spread that increase over three years or more.
• Notify its policyholders of such premium rate increase and make available to such policyholders the additional choice of reducing the policy benefits to reduce the premium rate or electing coverage that reflects the minimum set of affordable benefit options.

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