California task force ponders long-term care insurance program

The California Long Term Care Insurance Task Force is working to create a new long-term care insurance program that could include government funding, enrollee premiums and private long-term care coverage, reports Think Advisor.

The group is charged with producing a feasibility report by Jan. 1, 2023, and an actuarial report on recommendations by Jan. 1, 2024. If approved, the actuarial report will be submitted to state lawmakers.

One issue, however, is how to avoid problems facing a similar program in a state to the north, Washington, which was the first state to try to create a public program for long-term care insurance.

Evergreen State lawmakers passed that state’s program in 2019.  It won the endorsement of the Washington Health Care Association, LeadingAge Washington, AARP and other organizations but has faced legal challenges about whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts the state’s ability to regulate this area. One law firm called the statute establishing the Washington  program “a compliance nightmare for employers, employees, and the state.”

Washington was supposed to begin collecting the payroll tax that funds its program in January, with benefits to be available beginning in January 2025. That plan, however, was delayed in January so that legislators could make adjustments to the law to address concerns. The current schedule calls for payroll deductions to start in July 2023 and benefits to be available in July 2026.

The California task force was established by 2019 legislation “to explore the feasibility of developing and implementing a culturally competent statewide insurance program for long-term care services and supports,” according to the California Department of Insurance website. The group also is evaluating the demands on the long-term care workforce as the need for long-term care in California grows, and how that workforce can be prepared to meet those demands.

The task force’s 13 members include Aron Alexander, a regional vice president at Atria Senior Living, and Karl Steinberg, M.D., immediate past president of AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, according to the website. The filling of two vacancies, representing adult day services providers and hospice and palliative care providers, would bring the group’s size to 15.