Long-Term Care Insurance: An Assessment of States' Capacity To Review and Regulate Rates

State regulation of long-term care insurance premiums plays a key role in ensuring the accurate pricing of policies and, thereby, preventing rate increases. If states fail to devote adequate resources to this function, their regulatory capacity will fail to ensure accurate pricing of these policies.

In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper, Steven Lutzky, Lisa Maria B. Alecxih and Ryan Foreman of the Lewin Group document inadequacies in the state governments' review of long-term care insurance rates. The authors recommend that states

• require review by an actuary with training in long-term care insurance
• review the pricing and the assumptions used to set the prices
• provide consumers with comparative rate guides and information on insurance companies' rate increase histories. (69 pages)