Enrollees in the federal program are preparing themselves for even more expensive coverage in 2024.
Americans enrolled in the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) are getting ready to pay even more for their coverage next year after having faced regular increases for several consecutive years.
The Office of Personnel Management has announced that there will be a rate hike for current enrollees.
The Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program is run by the Office of Personnel Management. It announced that current enrollees should expect to see higher rates for 2024. The changes begin at the very start of the year on January 1.
This increase is different from those that have taken place in previous years in that the Office of Personnel Management has decided not to share an average percentage by which all FLTCIP premiums will be increased. According to a spokesperson from the agency, there is such a large variance in the percentage of the increase from one enrollee to the next that it would be impossible for an overall average to provide a clear depiction of how much people can expect to pay next year.
Anecdotal evidence from program participants show long-term care insurance rates could rise by 86 percent.
Current enrollees who have received their premium notification letters through the National Actie and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) have indicated that some of the increases in premiums are as high as 86 percent when compared to what is being paid this year. If current enrollees want to keep up the same coverage options they have, they will be required to pay the additional amount next year.
Other notices reported by NARFE have been for increases of 49 percent and 77 percent. Clearly there is a wide range of rate hikes being implemented for 2024.
Current enrollees in the long-term care insurance program “may be facing a choice between unaffordable premiums or inadequate coverage and have lost the time and opportunity to forge an alternative plan for future long-term care costs,” said National President of NARFE William Shackelford in a statement released on September 12 about the increases.
