On Jul. 17, CAL INS said bill to protect seniors signed into law.
- Commissioner-Dave Jones, had sponsored the bill to protect California seniors
Impact of Law
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Law improves long-term care insurance and accelerated death benefit statutes.
- Assembly Bill 2180, facilitates policy review process for more insurance choice.
- California is home to the largest number of seniors age 65 and older in the US.
- Will grow from about one in five persons by 2030 to nearly one in four in 2040.
- Expanding aging population, will increase the need for long-term care services.
- May lead to more interest in long-term care insurance to finance these services.
Flexibility
- Allow flexibility of long-term care insurance benefits, via alternate plan of care.
- Under this, insurer would pay for services not otherwise covered by the policy.
- Many consumers choose to protect themselves, by buying life insurance policy.
- Allows accelerated death benefit, for a qualifying catastrophic or chronic illness.
Certified Illness
- Clarifies standards and processes for certification of an insured's chronic illness.
- By providing more standardized terms and procedure for alternate plan of care,
- Define benefit payment, claim, and application with more clarity and specificity.
- Changes will help insurers write more compliant forms, end delays in approval.
- Help insurers bring new insurance products to market, give choice to consumer.
Effectiveness
- These changes from Assembly Bill 2180, will become effective January 1, 2019.
