LTC Bullet: NH Promotes Private LTCI; Center President Keynotes Conference Seattle-- May 17, 2000 The New Hampshire state legislature established a Long-Term Care Institute in 1998 to "promote and achieve the goal of encouraging all New Hampshire's citizens to assume greater responsibility for providing for their own long-term care with an emphasis on [pri- vate] insurance as a tool for financing long-term care." What makes the New Hampshire Long-Term Care Institute (NHLTCI) unique is its emphasis on private insurance, instead of tax-based public, financing of long-term care. Created based on the recommend- ations of studies and projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted by the state's Division of Elderly and Adult Services, the NHLTCI's role is to educate the public "about the need and costs of LONG-TERM CARE SERVICES" and about "LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE." (Emphasis in the original.) According to the Institute's literature: "There is a particular need for a private, not-for-profit entity such as the Long-Term Care Institute to provide education in this area.. [I]nformation about long-term care insurance by a not-for-profit organization established by the State Legislature sends a powerful message to New Hampshire citizens that this is an issue that their government deems important and worthy of their consideration." That is indeed a message all states and the federal government should be sending to all Americans! The New Hampshire Long-Term Care Institute's first major public event was an "LTC Financing Leadership Summit" in Bedford, NH on May 12, 2000. Following an introduction by Governor Jeanne Shaheen, Center for Long-Term Care Financing President Stephen Moses delivered the conference keynote address "Long-Term Care: Preparing for the Future." Moses' remarks were followed by a panel consisting of two women whose families had just been through wrenching long-term care experiences. One family, with long-term care insurance, weathered the storm relatively well. The other, without private insurance for long-term care, suffered heart-rending financial and emotional consequences. The remainder of the conference focused on the nuts and bolts of individual and group LTC insurance products. Congratulations to the State of New Hampshire for taking a leadership role and a model approach in confronting the challenge of long-term care financing. |