Connecticut long term care premiums increase due to rising costs

Connecticut Long Term CareMany Connecticut insurance policy holders for long-term care have experienced a notable increase in their rates, marking the beginning of a trend that is likely to persist as a result of rising costs.

Premiums spiked by double-digits for many among these policy holders, leaving them to wonder how much more they will need to pay in future months. Connecticut is not alone in these increases, as several other states have just filed rate actions, as well. These rate increases are being justified by rising costs and the need to compensate for them.

According to Connecticut regulators, since 2007, they had already held back two thirds of all requests for rate increases. Now, though, things appear to have changed. MetLife, for example, has been permitted to increase their rates by 39 percent as of the summer of 2011.

MetLife is only the most recent among insurance companies offering long-term care policies to cause a double-digit increase in their rates within the last year and a half. The rising costs that were quoted as justification for this hike were listed as being caused by the inability of Medicaid to cover healthcare in its entirety, and due to recent shifts in costs within the healthcare industry.

That said, MetLife has also made the rise in rates a significant one in order to compensate for future claims, which they believe will be higher than anticipated.

Relatively speaking, long-term care insurance is a new form of insurance product and today’s policyholders will be covered for risks several decades into the future.

The legislature has passed a bill that awaits Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s signing or veto, which would require a larger number of public hearings before requests for rate increases in the double digits would be permitted.

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