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LTC
Graduate Seminar Twenty Key Questions
- What
effect does the increase in public financing and decrease in private
financing of home care and nursing home care over the past four decades have
on the marketability of private long-term care insurance?
- If
the public does not know that the government is paying more for long-term
care and individuals are paying less, is their demand for private insurance
still affected by these facts? If
so, how? In other words, which
is more important, the perception or the reality?
- Should
long-term care insurance companies and/or their trade associations educate
the public policy makers about the effect of public financing on the market
for private insurance? If so,
how? Who should take this
responsibility?
- As
more and more states expand Medicaid home and community-based services
waivers and assisted living coverage, how will the demand for private
long-term care insurance be affected?
- Should
the long-term care insurance industry favor or oppose the expansion of
publicly financed, non-nursing home, long-term care?
Why or why not? If
oppose, how?
- As
the access to and the quality of publicly financed long-term care continues
to decline, how is the public likely to respond? Will they know? Will
they care? Will they take more
interest in private insurance?
- Should
the long-term care insurance industry attempt to educate the public and
policy makers about the access and quality problems of publicly funded
long-term care? If so, who
should take the lead: insurance
companies, trade associations, or independent organizations?
- What
role do you see the long-term care partnerships plans in the future?
Are they effective? Why
or why not? Is there a downside to coordinating benefits with Medicaid?
How could the partnerships be improved?
- What
do you think of legislative proposals to give long-term caregivers a $3,000
tax credit? Would this benefit
increase or decrease the public's sense of urgency about long-term care?
Should the industry support or oppose the tax credit?
How?
- How
important is "above-the-line" tax deductibility?
How likely is it to pass? What
should be done to encourage passage?
- What
accounts for the low and slow market penetration of private LTCI?
If "denial," what enables denial given the high objective
risk?
- Consumer
surveys indicate most Americans are aware of the risk of long-term care and
know they should prepare, but they still fail to act.
Are consumers irrational? If
not, how do you explain this behavior?
- Very
few adult children contribute toward their parents' LTCI premiums.
Why? What can be done to
increase this source of premium financing?
- Very
few seniors tap the equity in their homes to finance LTCI premiums.
Why? What can be done to
increase this source of premium financing?
- Many
seniors are over-insured for Medi-Gap and life coverage, but under-insured
for long-term care. How can
this imbalance be corrected?
- Most
LTCI marketing emphasizes asset protection. If assets are less at risk than previously thought, how
would this fact affect the marketability of private LTCI?
How should marketers adapt?
- The
unique benefit of LTCI is the financial ability it providers policyholders
to purchase quality long-term care at the most desirable level of care.
How can the industry tout this benefit
without seeing to attack the public financing programs?
- Private
LTCI has a reputation for unaffordability. Bum rap or fair? What
is the best approach to confront the issue of affordability?
- LTCI
is evolving from a simple insurance model (nursing home indemnity) toward an
equity-building model (pool of money, life insurance, and annuity models.)
What are the pros and cons of this development?
How should the insurance industry adapt?
- Do
long-term care insurance agents need a professional certification program?
If so, who should provide the training and testing?
Are you satisfied with the options that are currently available?
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